When You're Lost: The Origin Story
by Angel-from-the-Ashes
Summary: (Rewrite) Mella was just your average fangirl who lived with her father, who happened to be trying to create earth's first teleportation pad. But when an experiment goes wrong and Mella gets caught in a portal with nothing but the Age of Ultron DVD in her hands, who knew it would lead to the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Specifically, Avengers Tower? Set during AoU.
1. Chapter 1: Average Fangirl

_"Being a fangirl is the best thing that's ever happened to me. ...We know what we're into, we love hard, and we're okay with it."_

 _― Sam Maggs_

* * *

" . . . ate . . . . Miss . . . Kate . . . Miss _Kate_!"

I snapped out of my daydream to look directly into my biology teacher's angry old face.

"Uh, yes Mr Jay?" I sputtered. I felt a deep blush of embarrassment creep up my neck and onto my cheeks when every student in my class turned their eyes towards me. Students who felt sorry for me sucked in nervous breaths through their teeth, while others looked away.

"I _asked_ you what type of relationship this is?" Mr Jay pointed to the whiteboard where he had drawn up examples of relationships found in nature.

Content review! That's what we were doing, going through what we've been studying for the last couple of months. Mr Jay was pointing to a drawing of a tapeworm and a human. I cleared my throat. "That is a, uh, parasitic relationship. A relationship between two organisms where one benefits and the other is harmed."

"Very good." Mr Jay praised me, albeit being a little annoyed. "But next time I suggest keeping the board in focus, that way you don't look like you're about to fall asleep." I nodded furiously and before he could say anything else, the bell rung for lunch.

Thank God, the bell was my superhero for the day. I began to put away my stuff when I surprised myself. Across my notebook was a pen sketch of Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen as Pietro and Wanda Maximoff from Avengers: Age of Ultron. I almost laughed, that was so me. I'd lose myself in a daydream, and a doodle turns into a detailed sketch. Especially if it had anything to do with Marvel.

I had been a fangirl for as long as I could remember. Marvel and DC specifically were two of my top favourite fandoms. Though I was born in 1998 and the original comics had skipped me, cartoons became my original source material. Fantastic Four, X-men TAS and Evolution, Justice League and the Teen Titans were my _childhood_. I loved the superhero genre and I just couldn't get enough of the superpowers and tragic backstories.

"Well, that explains a lot." I heard a voice say from next to me. I turned to see Lana So, a tiny Korean girl with her hair dyed a deep red and my best friend, with her bag slung over a single shoulder and smirk on her face. She pointed at my drawing. " _This_ is what I call a parasitic relationship."

"I know right? Marvel just sucks the life out of you." I joked and ripped the page from my book and handed it to her. "But we wouldn't have it any other way."

"Aw thanks, Mella." Lana gushed at the sketch as I packed up the rest of my things.

I was always alone in my interests, about Marvel I mean. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to stereotype other girls but the ones I had been friends with all preferred shows and books like Twilight and Pretty Little Liars and Criminal Minds. Not that there was anything wrong with that, I liked those things too, and some were fans of the Marvel and DC cinematic universes, but they never knew enough about the comics or past shows and movies to have in-depth conversations with.

It wasn't until I the seventh grade I finally found someone who understood. Lana was a spritely girl who had the exact same range of interests as me, and she was always bursting with opinions, theories and headcanons. We became best friends almost instantly. The two of us also being only children, I'd come to love her like a sister.

I slung my bag over my shoulder as we left the lab and joined the sea of maroon uniforms in the corridors that were all headed to their usual spots for lunch.

I was in year eleven and attended St. Mary's Catholic School in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. I lived there with my father, who was an experimental physicist that worked at the Western Australian Institute for Experimental Sciences. He was actually working on creating the world's first teleportation pad, and not to brag but his work actually had merit, which kind of made him famous in the science community on an international level. Plus, teleportation! It sounded like something straight out of a comic book.

Despite the name, St. Mary's Catholic School was a co-ed school. The campus I attended also only catered to the year eleven and twelve students. The other grades of St. Mary's had a campus down the street and around the corner. There were still a lot of students, but only having two grades on one campus made our school community more intimate. Everyone knew everyone, and so news of my slip up in class didn't take long to spread around the school. Probably because nothing else newsworthy happened that day, unfortunately for me.

"Heard Mr. Jay caught you daydreaming." Jack teased as he and our other friend Kay sat with us at our lunch spot; under the shade of a large tree off to the side of the large patch of grass out the back of the school.

Jack Abbatelli was a short and extremely rotund boy, with light skin, dark brown hair and blue eyes. I remember that I met him in the eighth grade when Lana and he had gotten into a fight. I don't really remember what it was about, but all was forgiven after that, and then we found out Jack was a huge Harry Potter fan and a gamer, so the fact that we all became friends wasn't a big surprise.

We met Kay Palmer through Jack as he was his best friend. We had no idea how they were friends as Kay was Jack's complete opposite. Kay was lanky and was one of tallest boys in our grade, with olive skin and bleached blonde hair done up in a victory roll on the front right side of his head, which was his usual style. Kay was gay and wasn't afraid to show it, nor did he care that he was open about his sexuality and acted on it in a Catholic school which "tolerated" homosexuality. He was also a complete makeup junkie, he even did mine for our year ten formal. He was also a complete DC nerd, but he was a big fan of Captain America, mainly because he had a huge celebrity crush on Chris Evans.

I groaned at Jack's comment and laid back on the grass. "I dozed off for a minute, so what?"

"We don't give a shit that you daydream, I just wish you would stop doing it in _his_ class. You get into so much _trouble_! I think he hates you." Kay replied and bit into an apple, which he had stolen of Lana.

Lana agreed and snatched her apple back. "Yeah, you remember what happened last time."

"What happened last time?" I turned my head to the side to see the last three members of our group arrive and sit down. The girl who had spoken was Giovanna Gonzales or "Geo" as everyone called her. Her parents were Mexican and she was a good friend of Kay's, she was also hands down the prettiest girl in the grade; at least Lana and I thought so. Caramel skin, dark hair and eyes, big lips, curves in all the right places, and she was notoriously known to go through boyfriends quicker than I could go through pages in a sketchbook, and that's saying something. She was so popular it was hard to believe she hung out with us.

I couldn't help but feel a little washed out next to her, though. I know what you're thinking, no I'm not insecure about my looks, I think I'm decent looking. I'm not too pale, but not really tan either, even though I live close to a beach. All I had to show to prove that I'd actually been out in the sun were the few freckles I had under my eyes and on my nose. My eyes were brown and super round, like a doll's. Lana always goaded me into dressing up in dolly and Lolita fashion, just so she could stick giant multi-coloured contacts in my eyes. I didn't actually mind dressing up. When you're a fangirl, the desire to cosplay becomes engrained into you.

My hair was long and this dark brown colour that looked black at times. I liked that it had a slight wave that turned into very loose curls at the end, it gave my everyday ponytail a little something extra. I had my father and his curly hair to thank for that. I was, at least, five foot 4, and I my chest was pretty big but my hips were _huge_ , apparently, I had my mother to thank for those. Now mix that all together and what do you get? Me! And I think I look absolutely A-Okay. Though Lana thinks I'm self-deprecating, and would always say-"You're like a teenage Hayley Atwell with those hips!" I nearly spit out my drink due to laughter the first time I heard that one.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm fine with the way I look, but Geo was much more beautiful. Plus she was so worldly since her family travelled a lot, and she gave great advice, especially when it came to dating. Me? I've never even kissed a boy let alone ever gone out with one. Geo kept trying to set me up but I'm so awkward around any boy I wasn't familiar with, and I never really got out much, so with that, I thought I'd save myself the trouble. Not only was I a fangirl, I was an _introverted_ fangirl.

"I think they're talking about Mella falling asleep in Mr Jay's class. That was a big mistake." Aadesh said before he plopped his head in Liz's lap.

Liz had been watching her boyfriend's lips very carefully and I managed to sit up before she raised her hands up and moved them around in fluid and thought out motion. Using sign language I could see she said-"You mean the time she fell asleep in class and Sir woke her up by slamming a textbook on her desk?"

I frowned at her and raised my own hands to sign as I spoke. "I only fell asleep because I was working late on a painting the night before."

Everyone in the group hollered in understanding of course, and Liz smirked and signed again-"I'm not surprised."

Aadesh and Liz were the cutest couple ever, talk about a real life OTP, and the hopeless romantic in me hoped they'd stayed together after high school. Addesh Doshi was an Indian boy with an extremely pronounced jawline that was hard not to stare at because it was so perfect. He had only moved to Australia with his family from India in the ninth grade and became friends with Jack, which was how he met the rest of us. He loved Batman and Minecraft so we got on great. He also developed the biggest crush on Liz.

Elizabeth 'Liz' Williams was a mousy blonde girl and had really come out of her shell since becoming friends with us. Whenever we had her over we would bake mountains of cookies and cupcakes before she'd smash us all at Monopoly. I've known her since year six and she was a good friend, but we didn't really hang out until she became best friends with Aadesh.

She was hard of hearing; partially deaf. She could hear sounds that were really loud and some speech if she was close enough to the person speaking. A few of our teachers in my primary school knew sign language and helped myself and many other's in my grade set out to learn sign language to better communicate with her, and I'm one of the few who became fluent.

Aadesh, having had such a huge crush on her, set out to learn sign language himself. Even though Liz could still hear some things and read lips fairly well, he wanted to be able to communicate with her fully. It was so sweet of him, and Liz thought so too. They got together the night of our year ten formal, Aadesh asked her to dance, and the next thing anyone knew they were kissing. They've been together ever since. Oops, I have to be careful telling that story, I always feel like I'm about to swoon after.

"Okay, I take the blame for that one." Lana raised her hands up in surrender. "She stayed up late because she was painting me this awesome portrait of Tony Stark."

"That painting is awesome." Jack agreed. "But not as good the Optimus Prime painting she gave me for my birthday."

Lana scoffed and chucked her half eaten apple at him. "Yeah right!"

"Now now guys, back to the subject at hand?" Geo redirected with a flip of her hair. "Mells, you've got to stop daydreaming in Mr Jay's class, or that shit's going to show up in the comments on your report."

"Really? She should be worried about that?" Lana spoke at Geo in disbelief. "All Mella ever gets are A's and B's, and everyone knows no parent reads the teacher's comments unless their kid gets D's and under."

"Not true." Aadesh disagreed while signing for Liz. "My parents always read my comments."

"See? Your logic is flawed. 'Desh is a straight A student." Geo argued. "Teachers have nothing bad to say, that's _why_ parents would read the comments. "

Lana however, wasn't going to let this go. I knew she wasn't, not until she proved she was right. Jack knew it too, and he sent me a knowing look that almost made me laugh. Lana raised a brow at Aadesh. "Really? Aadesh, do your parents read or skim? Like, do they actually spend more than five minutes with the report in their hands?"

The Indian teen paused for a moment before he thoughtfully replied. "No."

"Ha! Point proven." Lana grinned and it was Geo's turn to throw some food. Unfortunately, what she threw was a tiny packet of Doritos chips, which Lana gladly caught and began to dig into.

One point for Lana. Geo: zero.

Kay scoffed and turned to me. "What were you daydreaming about anyway?"

"I don't really remember," I answered honestly though I knew it had something to do with Marvel.

"But your hands do." Lana smiled slyly and pulled out the page I had sketched all over in class.

"Damn." Geo gasped and grabbed the page. "I wish I could draw like this."

"Everyone wishes they could draw like Mella." Jack corrected and I shoved him in the shoulder, another blush on my face, but everyone else agreed. I didn't want to brag but I do think I have some pretty great art skills. I was a very visual type of person from a very young age, something else I got from my mother that I was incredibly thankful for. I loved to draw, and with the help of books and youtube tutorials, I became quite good at it.

My love for drawing soon led to painting and photography, then to design, textiles and filmmaking. It was just something I loved to do and people liked it. I'd always hoped that one day I could study to better my skills and become an animator, I would have loved to work for Disney or Dreamworks one day.

Geo handed the sheet back over to Lana. "Can I have my own copy? Pietro Maximoff is _fine_."

"Mm- _hmm_." Kay hummed appreciatively.

"Of course," I said, requests weren't unusual, but I smirked at Kay. "But he's not as fine as Steve Rogers?"

" _Hell_ no. No one's finer than Cap. End of story."

"I beg to differ." Lana scoffed. "Thor is on a whole different level compared to Cap."

"Oh, here we go." Aadesh sighed and Liz let out what we considered being a giggle while she ran her fingers through her boyfriend's hair.

"Speaking of Marvel," Jack said while Lana and Kay were bickering away, something about Chris Evans' shoulders and pecs vs. Chris Hemsworth's biceps. "I heard you say you're headed to Big W after school to pick up the new Age of Ultron DVD."

"Oh my God are you still on that movie? It's been months!" Geo complained.

"Yes, I'm still 'on it'. I just have to have it, there's forty-five minutes worth of behind the scenes footage and interviews!" I explained irritated. "You saw it too, I thought you liked it."

"I only watched it for Pietro Maximoff." Geo huffed with her arms crossed. "And he _died_."

Lana let out a whimper and I put a hand on my chest, clenching the white material of my school blouse dramatically. "Don't even mention it, the wounds haven't healed yet."

It had been a few months since Avengers: Age of Ultron had been released, and what a glorious movie it was. I had heard others talk about how there was too much action but I thought it had a good balance, and who didn't love the action? But that was my view on the film and don't get me started on all the Brutasha-too many _feels_

"Yeah yeah." She waved us off and Lana stuck her tongue out at her.

Lana grinned after and pointed at me. "Tell me when you get it yeah? I want to make sure so I can come over tomorrow and check it out for myself."

"You're coming over anyway, even if I didn't have it, right?"

"Oh yeah, definitely." I _knew_ it.

"Oh yeah, it's Friday." Aadesh gasped excitedly. "I completely forgot."

"Of course, you did." Kay chastised, it was universally known that despite his smarts he was more forgetful than I was. Kay checked his phone and groaned. "Oh man, I have to work this afternoon, until closing, and again tomorrow."

"Sucks to be you, Addesh and I have the entire weekend to ourselves." Liz signed. So that's what 'Desh was excited about. I'm pretty sure Kay didn't get everything that Liz had said, but Lana told him and Kay made some off-hand comment about what Liz and Aadesh did in their _alone time_ , which caused everyone to laugh.

A warm, content feeling washed over me as I laughed along with my friends. I had such great friends, I was getting the new Avengers DVD, and all my worries just melted away. That moment was perfect, maybe the rest of my day might've been perfect too.

Of course, I spoke too bloody soon.

* * *

"Lana! I got it! I _got_ it!" I squealed over the phone and held my DVD in hand. I must have looked crazy because I was currently on a bus headed back from my local shopping centre.

 _"Oh my God, we have to watch it, I'm coming over tomorrow!"_ Lana wheezed over the phone and I could hear her yell to her mother. _"Ma! I'm headed over to Mella's tomorrow!"_

"Yeah, it'll be fun. We'll have an Avengers marathon!" I told her and another idea popped into my mind. "We should make those Avengers themed cupcakes again!"

 _"We should! I'm still getting so many notes on Tumblr for the picture we took of them."_ Lana giggled over the line. _"Well, before your dad ate most of them."_

"Yeah . . ." My mood dropped instantly at the mention of my father, and Lana sensed it through the phone.

 _"Oh no. Is your Dad still acting weird?"_ My silence was her answer. _"You really need to talk to him, Mella."_

"I know, but the more I try, the more he shuts me out." I explained and I could hear Lana hum in understanding over the line. For the last few weeks, my Dad had been acting weird. He started to spend more time away from home and when he was home, he locked himself away in the basement that doubled as his study and workshop.

My father was a brilliant man. He was always kind and was always spitting those cheesy 'dad-jokes' that were so lame you had to laugh. He was intelligent and hardworking, but a dreamer at heart. But he had become withdrawn and I had no idea what to do. It was hard to sleep at night sometimes because there was so much noise coming from down there in his workshop, like machinery, and it was even worse because he had forbidden me from going into the basement. He had always allowed me into the basement, what was he doing down there that was so important (or dangerous) that he had to forbid me from entering?

Lana joked once that maybe he was performing some illegal experiment, and I got emotional because all my doubts were pointed in that direction.

 _"Mella I don't have to come over, maybe you need time to sort stuff out with your Dad."_ Lana suggested but I immediately refused.

"No no, don't worry about it." I brushed off. "Come over, my father will probably be down in his workshop anyway, he probably won't even come out tonight, but I'll try . . . I'll try to talk to him."

 _"Ok, if you say so."_

"Yeah," Looked out the window as the bus took a turn. My stop was close. "Hey, I'll talk to you later yeah? My stop's coming up."

 _"See you tomorrow then, love ya."_

"Love ya." And Lana was off the line.

I shoved my phone in my bag, got off the bus and headed down to my house. It was a simple two-story building that was painted a soft cream colour. I walked up the cobblestone path up to a wooden deck to the door. I entered the house and called out. "Dad?" No response, no surprises there.

I looked down the hall where there was a door that led down to the basement. The lights were on, I could see it leak through the space between the door and the floor. I said I would try and talk to him . . .

With a newfound determination I dumped my bag on the stairs off to the side, the DVD still in my hand. I don't know why I kept it on me, but I did. I went up to the door and didn't bother to knock, and reached my hand towards the doorknob, but stopped.

I found myself in this position often, frozen outside the basement door, hand hovering above the doorknob, but my hand would never touch it. It sounded just like a superhero backstory. Hero's parent was some mad scientist who withdrew themselves away from their kid to work an illegal project, and that always ended with parent scientist causing an accident that would either get them killed, give their kid (future hero) superpowers, or both.

But this wasn't some mad scientist; this was my father! Kind, warm and caring all wrapped in cheesy dad jokes and a good work ethic. I was about to give up when there was a sudden bang that came from inside the basement strong enough to shake the door. When smoke started to seep through the bottom of the door was when my hand touched the doorknob.

"DAD!" I yelled and flung the door open. I was met with a gust of grey smoke, which was sucked into my mouth. I coughed and covered my mouth and nose with my free hand before I made my way down the stairs, hoping I wouldn't trip and fall down the steps. The DVD proved useful as it helped fan way the smoke that clouded the basement. I called again. "Dad!?"

"Mella!?" Dad called back over the beeping of the smoke alarm. He shut off the smoke alarm with a broom and came over to me. He was in old sweatpants and a dirty grey polo, his dark hair was messed up and his face and hands covered in grease. "I told you not to come down here, sweetheart!"

I did a double take; was he serious? "I heard a bang and there was smoke! I thought you might've been hurt."

"I'm fine sweetie-"

I interrupted him. "What _is_ all this?" I looked all around and the basement was filled with equipment that had never been in the basement before."

Dad tried to get away from the topic. "It's just something I'm working on-"

"But you've been down here for almost three weeks!" I reasoned, this was the last straw. "What's so important that you can't just finish it at the lab?"

I could my father was getting frustrated. "Honey-"

"No Dad! What aren't telling me?" I accused, all the anger and confusion finally pushing its way to the surface. I hated this, I knew my father was hiding something from me, and I was tired of not getting any answers.

Dad said nothing but instead held out his hand. After a second, I took it. I let him lead me over to the spot where the smoke had come from, and I recognised the object before me from the plans my Dad had shown me months before.

On the metal table was a circular disk a little more than half a meter in diameter, with two large ray gun looking devices, pointed at the disk on either side of it. It was made from metal and looked as if it had been bashed around a few times with smoke pouring from visible tears in the metal. It was hooked up to a whole array of computers and generators that were beeping and blinking. I also noticed the scorch marks in the centre of the disk.

"Is this the prototype teleportation pad? What happened to it?" I spoke worriedly, inspecting the damage.

"Something wonderful." Dad grinned at me, and I turned around and held in a gasp. On the other side of the basement on the ground was a replica of the last disk. It sparked but didn't look as overly damaged as the first one, and in the middle of it sat a teddy bear, a horribly burnt teddy bear, but it was in one piece.

"H-how?" I choked out. "I thought you were still working on how to _break down_ objects for teleportation! Not actual teleportation!"

From what I could understand, the teleportation method my father had been developing was similar to the Zeta tubes the Justice League and Young Justice used in the DC Universe. It was similar in terms that there had to be machinery at the home location and the destination and it involved the breaking down of the person and reforming of those particles at the destination of choice. It was also similar in terms that weather conditions would affect the method quite significantly-storms might possibly create bad connections for teleportation, and that could potentially be dangerous to the person teleporting.

However, how the particles got from one place to the other was a whole other story that I would _never_ understand.

"I know!" Dad spoke giddily. "But it actually worked sweetie! I just need to work on the speed and the actual reformation of particles and in a year or two's times we'll have teleportation pads everywhere!"

"Dad that's great!" I laughed and threw my arms around him, hugging him tight. "Mom would be so proud of you, Dad."

I could feel my father squeeze me tighter. Mum died when I was four, but from I could remember she was a bright Filipino woman; loud and brash with a laugh like no other. My mother (much like me) preferred the arts to science but always supported my Dad in his ventures.

When I was younger, my father was having a hard time trying to find someone to fund his work, to give his work on teleportation a chance. He used to be partnered with all these other researchers on several projects but he wanted to peruse his own work. He was using all his personal funds at first but he knew that wouldn't last, that was why he needed funding. During this period in his life, he had been pen pals with my mother for a few years, and he decided to take a break and go to Marikina City in the Philippines to meet her. One thing led to another and my mother moved to Australia with my Dad, they were married and shortly after I was born. Yep, I wasn't planned, but I knew my parents loved me regardless. However, with my father's money slowly dwindling and with my mother only working a simple office job, we weren't doing well.

We had lived in a shabby little studio apartment in the city, and it wasn't until after my mother died in a car accident when my father's work was finally acknowledged. But all through the hardships, Mum never stopped believing in my father's work.

I was happy, but of course not all my questions were answered. "But, Dad?"

"What is it, honey?"

"What was the rush?"

"What?" Dad spoke in confusion and looked right at me.

I watched his expression skeptically. "You've been rushing about for weeks and you've been so stressed out, why did you need to make so much progress for? Not that that's a bad thing! But why now?"

Dad's expression hardened, which, in all honesty, frightened me greatly. He turned away from me and went back to the metal table and tinkered with the teleportation pad.

"Dad?"

"The institute cut my funding, and they kicked me out."

I didn't understand. "What?"

"The institute cut my funding, I haven't been at the lab for the last two weeks," Dad spoke quietly. "I've been here."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "But why? You were doing such good work!"

"Yes, but I wasn't doing it fast enough," He replied, still not turning to face me.

"Not fast enough?" I repeated, but something in the room caught her eye.

On the wall above the first teleportation pad were posters, pamphlets and letters from what looked to be the military. Not just Australia military, but American, Japanese, and Russian military. The sight of them caused an uneasy feeling to settle in my stomach.

I swallowed hard, Lana's joke about my father echoing in the back of my mind. "Wait. Dad, if they cut your funding, isn't experimenting like this then . . . illegal?"

"Mella-"

"And where did you get all this equipment, if they cut your funding?" I pushed, and another thought came to me. "Dad, please don't tell me you _stole_ it."

There was no response.

" . . . Dad?"

"I didn't steal it, I just borrowed it."

My jaw hit the floor. "Dad!"

"Listen, honey, I have my own connections, and I needed to get my work done." Dad turned around and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm so close! Don't you see? Once the board sees how much work I've done they'll give my funding back, they'll want me back-"

"Or have you arrested!" I yelled and backed away from him. This was _crazy._ "And what do you mean you weren't working fast enough? I didn't realise your work had a deadline."

"There wasn't until they gave me one." Her father explained. "Some people looked into my work and needed it done, but my work wasn't moving fast enough so they cut my funding and gave my research to a team they had put together to see if they could make more progress."

In my mind, I connected the dots, though I hoped I wasn't right. "Some people? You don't mean the military, do you?"

"Yes, unfortunately." He sighed with a worn out look on his face.

I did my best to calm myself to calm down, which didn't last long. "Ok, so the institute cut your funding, but you think by showing them your own progress you'll get it back. So what-" I started before I stormed over to the wall and ripped off a military poster with her free hand. "Are these?"

"They're just. . . backup plans."

" _Backup plans_?"

"Others had heard of my work, so if I couldn't get my funding back-"

"You'd sell your work to foreign military!?" I nearly screamed. What in the history of _fuck_ was my Dad thinking!?

"Mella Serenity Kate! Don't you dare use that tone with me!" My father rose. "You don't understand."

"Of course, I don't understand!" I responded. "I know how important your work is to you, but why would ever go this far?"

"It's not that simple, honey," Dad explained, massaging his neck. "This isn't just about getting my work out there, this is about supporting ourselves! Without the funding I get, without my employment at the institute, I have no other income. My savings won't last forever, and I don't ever want you to be in a situation where money is going to be a problem. Not again."

I sighed. Of course he was thinking about me, that was the kind of person he was. He always put me first, and I loved him for that, but he lied to me, hid things from me. The person in front of me didn't seem like my father at all. I opened my mouth and told him what I thought. "But this isn't about me, Dad. What's happened to you? Do you remember what you told me when I was old enough to understand what you were doing? You told me you wanted to use the pads to help people, whether it was to get a man to work on time or to get children out of a disaster zone, you wanted your work to help."

"it will, honey, you know it will."

"In know, Dad," I said, in hopes to comfort him a little. "But not like this. Don't try and convince me that you're doing the wrong things for the right reasons. What if the board doesn't accept your work and gets you arrested? Or if they don't, will you really sell your work to another country? Who could potentially turn it into a weapon!?"

That brought my father to his breaking point, and our screaming match started. We threw around the same arguments, trying to prove the other wrong. We were so immersed in our fight that we didn't even notice the strange happenings at the other teleportation pad.

I tried again. "But Dad, please reconsider-"

"Honey." Dad spoke, his voice nervous and some of the colour had drained from his face. "Come here."

"Why?" There was a sudden cracking noise, and I whipped around to see something that definitely looked like it came right out of a comic book.

The pad that the singed teddy bear sat on was cracking, and blue light poured out from the cracks. As it broke the metal fell into the disk, as if there was a force sucking the shards into the pad. And the cracks were getting bigger and bigger.

A sense of panic shot through me like lightning. "Dad! What's happening?"

"I don't know," He admitted, his voice filled with dread. He rushed back to his computers that were blinking and screeching as if they were in pain.

"What's it doing?" I asked as the pad continued to break down and suck itself in.

"The pad, i-it's creating its own teleportation channel!" Dad yelled. He then grabbed me and pushed me to the farthest part of the basement before he returned to his monitors.

"How is that possible?" I said, my voice filled with fear as the pad broke completely and got sucked into a glowing portal on the floor that grew and took more of the floor with it. "Where's it teleporting the debris to?"

"I don't know!" Dad repeated and his form shook with confusion and stress.

Suddenly, the glowing portal in the floor grew at a faster pace, and the floor split. The forming crack was headed for my father.

"DAD!" I screamed in warning and raced over to Dad to shove him out of the way, but it was too late to save myself. The rumbling of the floor threw me off balance, and the next thing the I knew was that I was falling backwards.

And the portal sucked me in.

" _MELLA!_ " I heard Dad scream before I had lost all sight of the basement and saw nothing but light. I felt as if I was falling faster and faster, and I clung onto the only that had remained with me.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron DVD.

That last thing I could remember were my fingers clutching the plastic of the DVD case, and the feeling of hitting a hard surface before I lost all consciousness.

* * *

 **AN: So there's the first rewritten chapter! I know there's going to be some people who are going to be so annoyed by this, but I'm trying. What did you think? I tried to make Mella's regular life a lot more fleshed out compared to the first fic, so there's more detail about her friends and what she's like (a complete and utter daydreamer). There will be more chapters up soon so please don't run away just yet.**

 **The fic is finished in my head and I know what's going to happen, so while I'm rewriting as I said in my author's note at the end of my last fic the sequel is in the process so as soon as this is done expect the sequel soon as well, so stay tuned! Thank you everything guys!**


	2. Chapter 2: MCU

**AN: Hello guys! Oh my God all the support I'm getting from you guys has just blown me away. It's been what? Two days and already Over eighty followers and over fifty favourites! Thank you so much! To all my old readers, thank you for understanding why I wanted to rewrite the fic, and to all my new readers-**

 **WELCOME!  
**

 **Seriously, though, all the reviews I've gotten for this fic so far have been so supportive and have really motivated me, so thank you. Speaking of reviewers-**

ItsJustMe-94 **: Thanks! 3 I promise there's more stuff to come.**

Kelsocspanatarailka **: I'm glad :)**

GrassGirl **: Thank you so much! You have no idea how much how much your opinion means to me because I know you've been following the story for a while. I hope you like this chapter!**

Guest #1 **: I love the you find her more realistic, that was the goal.**

QuietRose-13 **: Thank you for liking the old story, though I know I'll do better with this story I did put a lot of effort into the original. I hope you enjoy the rest of this fic!**

Fanaticalreader108 **: I completely understand the frustration of waiting for new chapters! But I can promise it'll be worth it! One of the biggest things I wish to tackle is making sure that my original readers aren't feeling like they're reading the same thing. So I hope you enjoy the story to come!**

StarStreamtheKeeper **: Don't apologise! You are an absolute sweetheart, you know that? Thank you for enjoying my writing, I hope you're not disappointed by this chapter!**

Expendablesguest **: Yay an original reader! I'm so glad that you're enjoying the rewrite so far, I hope you like this chapter!**

The Utterly Fabulous Z **: *jumps with joy* THANK YOUUUUUUUU!**

Isanxd ** **: I particularly wanted to respond to you because you are a new reader and you had a lot of questions that I am delighted to answer. How often will I update? Hmm, normally I update whenever I can, so maybe every few days to a week at a time? It can vary. As for the old fic, yeah, I don't recommend it. My writing is atrocious XD. The whole point of the rewrite is because I just hated my writing in the old fic, and I knew I could do better for my readers. You also would spoil yourself reading the original, but not everything in this fic is going to be the same as the original. I didn't want my original readers to be bored with the plot despite there being more content-I didn't want them to feel that they were reading the exact same thing. So this fic is not only a rewrite of the first fic with more content and detailed story telling, but the fic has an _altered plot_ based on the original fic's plot with more a lot content. So few aspects of the story are going to be played out differently. Thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic.****

 ** **Also, a big shout out to**** grapejuice101 ****who has been a loyal follower of the first fic and, I kid you not, literally followed this fic at what felt like mere seconds after I posted it. It just made me feel really good and it blew my mind, so thank you!****

* * *

 _"When I discover who I am, I'll be free."_

 _―_ _Ralph Ellison_

* * *

When I first started to regain consciousness, everything felt stiff. I groaned and began to clench my hands into fists, trying to regain the feeling in at least one part of my body. I felt that I was lying on my back, on something soft but not as soft as my bed. I struggled to fight the grogginess that weighed down my eyelids, and my mouth tasted foul. It was a similar to the time when I broke my leg in the eighth grade and they gave me so many painkillers that my mouth tasted like chemicals, and they caused my breath to smell like pee. As you can tell, it wasn't pleasant.

When my train of thought finally pulled itself back together and returned to the station that was my brain, a splitting pain in my head made itself known. The blinding lights from up above that hit my eyes when I opened them didn't help either. When my eyes focused and I noticed I was staring at what seemed like the ceiling of a hospital room. I sat up slowly, the muscles in my torso strained with the movement. I cradled my aching head with one hand, it was heavier than usual. That's when I noticed the IV drip connected to my hand, and just the look of the bag of fluids that hung next to me gave me the incredible urge to use the bathroom.

I looked around and I was in what I deemed a medical bay, with its bleached white walls, sterile tiles and florescent lights. It was a lot more technological in that multiple high-tech machines and monitors were outfitted throughout the room. I sat on an angled hospital cot that was in the middle of a row of five and dressed in a white patient's gown. To my right was an exit that led to a hallway, to my left was a door that led somewhere that I'd hoped might've been a bathroom. There was no nurse's buzzer next to me, and with a quick look around I couldn't find one. _That_ was helpful.

But I began to wonder, why was I in a hospital? Or, what I thought might've been a hospital? I suppose it might've had to do with the reason why my head was pounding. Why was my head pounding? I decided that maybe I should look for help. I pulled the blankets away from my body and attempted to climb over the railing that had been raised on each side of the cot. Pain shot through my body from my head, and not only did I fall back to the bed, I remembered what happened before I woke.

My father's voice rang through me.

 _"MELLA!"_

"Dad!" I croaked, and my hand shot up to my neck. My mouth and throat suddenly became a desert. How long had it been since I had a drink of something? I didn't know, and it didn't really matter. Where the hell was I? Where was my Dad? I remembered everything, from coming home from the shops to discovering that my father's prototype actually worked, to our argument, to the glowing blue and white light that I fell into.

I must've hit my head when I landed in _wherever_ this place was. I tried not to panic, and I didn't. Well, more like I couldn't really because a particular breath combined with my dry throat sent me into a coughing fit.

"I could do with some water," I muttered to myself when the coughing subsided.

"I will make sure some will be sent up as soon as possible, Ma'am." A voice said. A voice with a distinct British accent that I happened to recognise. I must have been hearing things.

"Who . . ." I whispered and looked around the room for the source of the voice, mainly to make sure I hadn't gone insane.

"I am Jarvis, Ma'am, an artificial intelligence program designed by Tony Stark," Jarvis spoke. "I am here to assist you."

It was Jarvis, as in "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System" Jarvis, Tony Stark's artificial butler. Okay, now I was freaking out a little.

But even in my shock, I didn't forget my manners. "It's . . . It's nice to meet you, Jarvis." I spoke before I collapsed back into my bed. "Oh my God, this has to be a dream. A concussion induced delusion."

"I can assure you, Ma'am, I am very much real." As he said this (can you call him a he? I mean sure he sounds male, and he was based on the Stark's real butler Jarvis, but he's a digital program, it would be genderless! Wouldn't it?), I began to feel light headed.

"If you don't mind Ma'am, must contact Mr. Stark. Do you have a name?" He asked and a nodded my head numbly, my eyes were losing focus. Mr. Stark? As in Iron Man? Right, of course, who was Jarvis without Iron Man?

"Mella." Was all I told him before I passed out.

* * *

When I came to, I didn't open my eyes for a little while. My head hurt less and I took my time to fully come back to my senses, and my hearing was the first thing that became clear, and I could a few voices speak around me.

"She just fainted after she spoke to you?" The first voice said. "Understandable."

If I had been moving around, I would've frozen. That voice was more recognisable than Jarvis's, to me anyway. It was male, had an American accent and an undertone of calmness that soothed my inner panic. If that wasn't Mark Ruffalo's voice I heard, I don't know _anything_ anymore. I was a huge fan of the Hulk ever since I saw the live action Hulk film made by Universal Studios when I was little. I thought the Marvel Studios film with Edward Norton was only so-so, but I loved when Mark Ruffalo was re-casted for the role in Avengers. I've been a huge fan of his ever since, and an even bigger fan of the Bruce Banner.

"Yes, Dr. Banner," Jarvis replied. Dr. _Banner_! Holy crap. I was doing a pretty good job of lying there motionless as the voices continued to speak, but inside I was fangirling to the max. "We spoke briefly and she said her name was Mella."

"Mella? No last name?" A women's voice asked. Again, holy crap. Colbie Smulders, or perhaps Maria Hill, was that you?

"No, she fainted before she gave it." Jarvis spoke, before adding. "But she did speak with an Australian accent."

"Australia? Kid's a bit far from home, don't you think?" Okay, that's it. Robert Downey Jr. just spoke, and laying there and eavesdropping on their conversation wasn't going to cut it for me anymore, so I opened my eyes.

I didn't really mean this next part.

"Holy _shit_!" My hand shot up to cover my mouth. Three pairs of eyes stared at me and honestly felt the air from my lungs leave my body. To my right was Robert Downey Jr. aka Tony _freaking_ Stark, at the foot of my bed was Colbie Smulders aka (Robin Sparkles) Maria Hill, and to my left was indeed Mark Ruffalo aka-

Bruce. _Banner._

"Sorry," My apology muffled by my hand. I was dreaming for sure. What did you do when you didn't know when you whether you were dreaming? You pinched yourself. So that's what I did. Except my version of pinching myself turned into me trying to rip off a chunk of my arm.

"Woah!" Bruce raced to me and pulled at my wrists to stop me. He was so close to me. Bruce Banner's handsome face was right in front of mine, and I swear I could get lost in his deep brown eyes. Oh, looks like I was going to faint again.

I think Bruce picked on that, so he gently shook me by the wrists. "Don't faint!" He said, and all I could do was give him a shaky nod. "Are you alright?"

"Um, yeah," I answered carefully, despite all the shaking that made my head feel a little wobbly. "Just a little dizzy."

"Rightfully so, you suffered a severe concussion. You're safe now." Maria told me and sat down on my cot next to my feet while Bruce handed me a glass of water. "Can you tell us your name?"

I thanked the man and took a sip from the glass before I spoke. "Mella Kate," I told them with a little hesitation.

"And you don't know how you got here?" Maria asked.

"I . . . don't remember." I told her, and hoped she couldn't tell I was lying.

"Must be a side effect," Bruce concluded. "Short term memory loss is common after a head injury like hers."

Tony crossed his arms. " Well, _Mella_ , I would very much like to know how you came to be in _my_ med bay."

Bruce rolled his eyes. "And what part of realising that she has memory loss don't you understand?"

"I assure you Mr. Stark, I would very much like to know that too," I said before I realised that might've been a mistake

"You don't remember what happened to you, but you know who he is?" Maria asked me skeptically.

"Yeah, I know who he is." I played off, I just had to roll with it now. I settled on the idea that I had somehow landed in the MCU, I had no idea how, but here I was. I had read fanfictions similar to this once, where an OC through scientific or magical means ended up in their favourite fictional universe.

I had read ones for Marvel, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones. But let me tell you, I'm pretty sure there were none for the Hunger Games. Who'd want to end up there? Normally in these types of fics, the main character lays low at the start, either just making up a story for who they were or acting as if they had amnesia until they knew what was going on, which wasn't unnecessarily untrue for me. I had no idea how I ended up in the MCU, but I knew I'd find out eventually.

So for now, I'd act as if I didn't know I was in the MCU. I don't really know what they'd say to me if I told them their world was fictional in my universe I'd know what they'd think, and that was that I was crazy. They needed time to see I wasn't a threat. I gave Tony my best smile, if there was one thing Tony might fall for to overlook any serious suspicion he had of me, it was flattery. "Of course, I know who he is! I mean, I'm in the same room as Tony Stark A.K.A Iron Man! Why'd you think I was pinching myself earlier? I thought I was dreaming."

"You're a fan?" Tony shot a handsome grin at me, and the blush that rose to my cheeks wasn't fake.

"I'm a _huge_ fan." I gushed, that wasn't fake either. This might have been easier than I thought.

"Well I'm sorry to cut this meet 'n' greet short, but we really do need to get to the bottom of our current dilemma." Maria cut it and shot Tony a glare. She turned back to me. "Mella, my name is Maria Hill and this is Dr. Bruce Banner, we work for Mr. Stark."

I knew that, but I nodded anyway. "It's nice to meet you, have you guys been the one's taking care of me?"

"Partially," Maria explained. "We have medical staff on stand-by that have been checking on you for the last two days."

I blinked. "Two . . . days? I've been out for two whole days?" That was news to me. How bad did I hit my head?

"Yes, as I said your concussion was severe," Maria repeated. "Two days ago we found you inside our hanger. We had detected strange activity there, suddenly a strange blue portal opened up. Some debris came through and then you before it closed."

"A portal," I muttered. My father's device brought me here, but why here all places? I should have been teleported somewhere on my own earth, not to a completely different dimension. Then again, his device never included portals either, just instant teleportation.

I eyed the empty beds either side of me. "And I'm the only one who came through?"

"Yes, can you remember if there were any other people involved in what happened to you?" Bruce asked. I think he could see that I was upset. I was just so worried about my Dad. I know I pushed him out of the way thinking that if he fell into the portal he would be harmed or worse, but what happened to him if he didn't come through the portal with me? And I've been gone for two days! He must have been worried sick!

"It's all fuzzy." I told them, and a sick feeling settled in my stomach as I lied. Though I'm pretty sure my Drama teacher would be so proud of my performance right now.

"Do you remember anything at all?" Maria pushed, and I nodded.

"I remember I went to see my. . . my father. He's a scientist, and there was this bright blue light, and the next thing I knew I was falling and I must have ended up here." I said, trying to be as vague as possible.

"So you don't recall what actually caused you to fall into this 'blue light', as you say? Or what caused it?" Bruce said and I shook my head.

"No, but I'm sure it'll come to me in time."

"And you father, he was a scientist?" Tony started, jumping back into the discussion. "What was his field of work?"

"Uh, I think he did something that involved a lot of experiments . . . an experimental physicist! That's what he was." I answered, and made sure I mentioned nothing about his work on teleportation.

"How about his name? Do you remember where you lived?" Maria said a pulled out a tablet and began to jot down the information.

"Gerard Kate and we live in Australia. In Perth, yeah, I'm pretty sure we live in Perth." I told them honestly. I didn't mind telling them the truth now, it was not like they were going to find any information on us if we didn't exist here in this universe. Unless we did. That would be freaky.

"Alright, us grown ups are going to go figure this out," Tony said. I nodded and tried not to frown at his condescending tone. "You, on the other hand, you are going to stay in here for a couple of hours, for safety and security reasons of course."

Maria actually agreed with him this time. "You're our responsibility for now."

"I understand. Where is 'here', anyway?" I asked though I thought I already knew.

"Avengers Tower." I knew it. Okay, I had to make it look like I wasn't about to have a fangirl moment.

"Avengers tower, in the U.S.? Wow." Okay, so I let a little of the fangirl slip out. No harm in that.

"Right, and it's a little past noon so we'll send someone up with some food for you and some pain medication for your head," Maria informed as she tapped away on her tablet. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Um, maybe some fresh clothes?" I suggested. I had just realised I had nothing but underwear under my gown. "And, maybe some paper and a pencil? Or a book maybe? Just to pass the time."

"That I can do." Maria replied with a small smile, but I could sense the mistrust in her demeanour. That obviously meant she wasn't buying my whole act, but I didn't expect her to. This was Maria Hill we were talking about, she was a S.H.E.I.L.D. agent for out crying out loud! Wait, was she never not a S.H.E.I.L.D. agent?

That made me wonder; at what point in time was I in the MCU? Maria and Bruce worked for Tony, so maybe a little after Captain America: The Winter Soldier? I wasn't sure.

"And there's a bathroom down there." Tony pointed in the direction of the door opposite the exit at the end of the room before he grabbed Bruce by the arm and dragged him along out the doors. "And we have to go because we have very important business to attend to, and Hill has a party she's supposed to be setting up. Ask Jarvis if you need anything."

"I am at your service Miss." The AI spoke and I waved at the men as they left the room.

"Bye!" I called and Maria soon followed their lead.

"We'll see you soon," She said before she pushed passed the doors and I was alone again.

I sighed and laid back. I grabbed hold of the blanket and pulled it around me. The room felt so cold with just me in it, but I wouldn't let it get to me. I felt bad for lying to them, but I just needed some time to figure some things out. We would talk about everything in time when they figured out I wasn't telling the truth. But there was this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that worried me because it kept telling me I had forgotten something important.

* * *

It had been a few hours since I had last seen an actual person in the med bay and I was a little lethargic. After they left, Maria sent up a nurse of Asian decent with food, medication and everything else I asked for. The nurse took out my IV drip and let me shower. I was now dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

When I was in the bathroom I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Yikes. I had gone pale since I had been in bed for two, almost three days now. The shower I took had helped with that, but what it didn't help was the remains of a bump on right side of my forehead as well as the last stages of what looked like a very bad bruise. It was still a little tender to the touch, but overall I felt completely fine.

The food provided had been good. They were sandwiches, but they were the fanciest sandwiches I had ever had. I also got multiple bottles of water and other snacks so I wouldn't get too peckish as the hours passed.

After I inhaled the food and pain meds, I settled back down on my bed and began to draw. The nurse gave me a sketchbook and a single mechanical pencil with a rectangular eraser, as well as a few books I didn't touch. Harry Potter, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Fault In Our Stars, and the Game of Thrones? I had read all of them, but I didn't mind, to draw was my first choice to help pass the time anyway.

What exactly was I waiting for? For Tony or Maria to barge in and demand answers I guess. Once they realised there wasn't something right about me, maybe they wouldn't think I was that crazy when I told them I came from the 'real world'.

I took hold of the pencil and filled the pages of the sketchbook with everything that came to mind. I drew Lana and Geo arguing as they did before I ended up here. I drew Jack and Kay walking down the street together, I drew them to their exact likeness but their extreme differences in height and weight made them look like cartoons. I drew Liz and Aadesh sharing a milkshake, which they actually did in real life all the time. It was so sickly sweet and way too much like an American romantic-comedy. It was almost disgusting how cute they were together. Meh, maybe I was just jealous.

I drew the Avengers too, how could I not? I was in their universe after all. I sketched Captain America protecting a civilian with his shield, Thor eating pop tarts, Tony and Bruce in the lab, and Natasha and the Hulk back to back fending off henchmen as well as Clint shooting an arrow in the background.

I filled almost half the sketchbook with various drawings, but the one person I drew the most was my father. I drew him how I always saw him, with his stocky build and dark curly hair. I drew him working in his lab and tinkering away at some device, yelling at the TV when his favourite footy team was playing and covered in flour or some type of sauce when he attempted to help me out when I cooked. The tears started to well up when I drew the smile lines around his eyes on a particular sketch.

It was always just Dad and me since my Mom died. We were as close any father and daughter could get really. The only thing that ever took him away from me was his work and his dedication to it. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but in this instance, it was tearing us apart. The past couple of weeks he spent working on his illegal project was toxic for us. He actually shut me out for the first time since Mom died, and now because of his work, I was here, away from him when he needed me the most. I could only hope that he was okay. Lord, if I got back home I was giving those directors at the institute a piece of my mind.

Sorry, _when_ I got back home, not if. I already sound like I've given up.

I put the sketchbook down and pulled my knees to my chest. What was I talking about, _if_ was accurate. I still had no idea how I ended up in the MCU in the first place, how was I going to get home? What examples were there of teleportation in the MCU anyway? Was going to and from Asgard a type of teleportation? But the Bifrost was technically a bridge, the Rainbow Bridge if you wanted to be accurate. And what about the wormhole above New York? Can you consider that a form of teleportation?

The rubbed my hands together and sighed. As amazing as this was, I didn't want to spend a second longer in the MCU. Maybe Tony could help me once I explained everything because I knew sitting here and fretting about my situation wasn't going to help.

I raise my head away from my knees to lie back on the bed and relax, and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw the strangest thing at the end of the bed.

At the foot of the bed was a glowing portal. It was circular and about ten centimetres in diameter, outlined in a type of swirling blue matter and white light poured from the centre. Now that I got a good look at it was like a miniature version of the wormhole that had been opened over New York during the battle in the first Avengers film. What hit me harder was that it looked just like the portal that opened up in my Dad's workshop.

Where the hell did it come from?

The longer I stared at the tiny portal the more I felt a small tugging sensation at my navel. I rubbed a hand across my stomach before I lifted my hands to my face to examine them. Next, out of pure instinct, I grabbed my eraser and I threw it into the portal and it disappeared through it. I then clapped my hands together and focused, a second later the portal closed, there was a tiny tug in my stomach and another portal opened above me. Out fell the eraser and it dropped onto my head before it rolled down into my lap.

Huh, not where I aimed for, but close.

I stared at my hands again, but in this time in wonder. _I_ had been the one to create the portal. That was . . . insane.

I tried something else. I clapped my hands together, focused, and felt the tugging. I slowly moved my hands apart and my portal began to form at the foot of the bed where the last one was. As my hands pulled apart the portal grew in size, and I let it grow to about the size of a large dinner plate before I relaxed and left it the way it was. I smiled at the larger portal, it wasn't that hard to form at all.

Wait.

"Jarvis?" I spoke. Obviously, if he had been watching me he would have surely said something by now, or maybe sent for someone to check out what I was doing in here.

"Jarvis?" I asked again, still no response. The nagging feeling in my mind grew stronger, telling me I missed something. Something wasn't right, and my gut told me it was going to be a long night.

* * *

It was a long night, it was close to midnight and Jarvis still didn't respond to me calling for him.

I went to the double doors that led out of the med bay but they were sealed tight. They were white and had a singular rectangular viewing window in the left door. Every attempt I gave to open it failed. The only other way I could get out of the room would be through the vent in the ceiling, but it was way too small for me, plus I couldn't reach it.

It had been four and a half hours since I discovered my powers and I practiced using them in hopes I could use them to get out of the med bay. But at the moment, I was having a hard time getting them to grow to a bigger size so that they'd be big enough for me to step through. The other problem was opening two at the same time. I had to focus on two places at once so they'd both stay open at once. It was difficult, but I had to admit that I liked the challenge.

In between practice, I paced around the med bay, searching my mind for what I had forgotten. It really worried me at this point, I _knew_ that I needed to remember whatever this was. Ha, my forgetfulness could rival Aadesh's right now. Maybe I was suffering actual memory loss, I did hit my head pretty hard.

Also, no one had come to check on me since noon. I wasn't sure what Jarvis was doing but it definitely wasn't telling Tony or Maria about what was going down in the med bay. The nurse told me I was healthy and I got plenty of rest already, so after taking my meds I would completely fine afterward, so I understand why she might not come back, but eleven and a half hours was a long time to leave someone you were suspicious of alone. Then again, Tony did say he and Bruce were working on something important, and Maria had a party of some sort to set up, which meant they would have been having a party right now.

Wait a minute.

There was a party going on.

Tony and Bruce were working on something important.

Jarvis wasn't saying anything.

I had been in the MCU for almost _three days._

The DVD.

Holy fuck! The Avengers: Age of Ultron DVD! I had it in my hands when I fell through the portal, is that what brought me here? Where was it now? God, not only was I in the MCU, I was in AGE OF ULTRON! Just my luck.

Okay, rewind. It was close to midnight and the Avengers were having a party. Holy crap, all the Avengers were in the building! Oh no, Jarvis wasn't responding to me, that meant Ultron had already scattered him. Nothing had happened yet, though, not anything that affected me yet anyway. That might of meant that Ultron was still repairing Legionnaires to attack the Avengers.

Oh shit. Ultron was real here. If wasn't such a fangirl I might've shit bricks at the mere thought of him.

I needed to get out, immediately. Every instinct I had in me told me the right thing to do was to try and warn the Avengers. To do that, though, I needed to get out.

I rushed back to the door and peeked out the window. The wall across from the door was my goal. I opened a portal up on the door as big as I make it, which I still couldn't fit through. I tried again, and again, and again.

I slammed my hand down on the door, frustrated. I just couldn't seem to construct a portal big enough for me to fit through. Dammit, and I still needed to be able to open another portal in the hallway but I can't keep two open at the same time. All the while I was having a hard time concentrating because I was at war with myself.

Why was I even trying to warn the Avengers about Ultron? Thanks to my own incompetence it was too late to do anything about him anyway. What would happen to this world, this whole _universe_ , if I altered the plot? I've seen enough sci-fi and fantasy to know that changing the rightful course of this dimension could have drastic effects. But at the same time, people here were in danger. The people here were _real_. This wasn't just a film anymore. Real people would die here because of the events that would occur soon, and even if I couldn't stop it, didn't I have the responsibility to help out as much as I could because of what I knew?

 _CRACK._

I turned my head slowly and looked up to the ceiling. There was a giant crack in it. The ceiling shook and more cracks appeared as if someone or some _thing_ was trying to pound their way through it.

One more hit and I pressed my back against the door as the ceiling cracked open and debris fell to the floor. I watched in horror as from the debris and dust rose an Iron Legionnaire, which I'm pretty sure had seen better days. It was all in one piece, which didn't bode well for me.

And then it came at me.

I ducked down and away before it slammed into the doors behind me. It didn't take long for it to recover and come for me again. I scrambled off the floor as fast as I could, but I wasn't fast enough because it managed to grab onto the front of my shirt and pull me up until my feet couldn't touch the floor.

I yelped in pain as my shirt pulled painfully against the back of my neck and I yelped again when it swung my body over its shoulder. I groaned when my gut hit its metal shoulder, and I struggled to get free from its hold. I began to panic when I heard the sound thrusters come from below. The Legionnaire was about to take off and it planned on _taking me with it._

I had no time to think about why and I acted on pure instinct. I moment the robot jumped into the air I wriggled my hands and we were engulfed in a white light.

We entered a portal I created, big enough to fit the robot and me, and a second later we came back through an exit portal. This second portal was made in the exact same spot the last one was but instead, the Legionnaire was flying down in the opposite direction and slammed into the tiled floor.

I ignored the pain in my back and shuffled away towards the door, but the damn thing was still jammed shut and the robot was recovering. I quickly looked between the door and the Legionnaire and an idea came to me.

"Hey, scrap metal! Are you done already?" I yelled, trying to get its attention. "You almost had me!"

The robot twisted around as I expected and shot off towards me, metal arms out in front, prepared to grab me. It took everything in me not to move until the last minute, but when it was finally a few inches away from me I dived out of the way much like the first time. The Legionnaire slammed into the double doors twice as hard as the first time and broke them down.

The robot lay twitching on the ground on top of pieces of the now broken door. The light in its eyes died down, and I knew it wasn't going to come at me again. I caught my breath before I left the med bay and collapsed in the hallway next to the dead robot.

Two birds with one stone, as they say. I just took down a Legionnaire, by myself. Holy shit, I really surprised myself this time. My heart rate was slowly returning to normal and the adrenaline was fading, of course, I would notice the ache in my back then. I looked down at myself, there were tears in my shirt from where the robot grabbed it, and my hair had fallen out of the messy bun I placed it in and now flowed down my shoulders and back. I must have looked like a complete mess.

"Mella?"

My head shot up.

"Maria!" I got up on shaky legs and the older woman limped over to me. She looked down at the Legionnaire before she looked to me for an explanation.

"It came through the ceiling." I pointed back to the med bay. "And tried to grab me but I managed to get away, and it flew into the doors trying to catch me."

"And you're alright?" She asked and looked me over for injuries.

"Yeah, completely fine." I told her, the ache in my back wasn't that bad, I didn't think it was anything to worry about. "What's going on?" I opted to ask, even know I knew exactly what was going on.

"We're about to find out, come with me." Maria nodded her head to the elevator down the hall and I followed close next to her. As we entered the elevator, I never let my eyes look back at the dead drone that lay in pieces on the floor.


	3. Chapter 3: Newfound Bravery

**AN: So I'm not dead! Sorry for the wait guys, I've just been so busy lately. I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload the next chapter but I promise it won't be as long as it took to upload this chapter.**

 **Please, R &R!**

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Edited by JarvisIsMyCoPilot

* * *

 _"Courage is found in unlikely places."_

 _-J.R.R. Tolkien_

* * *

"Um, hi." I greeted awkwardly as Maria and I walked into the lab where the rest of the Avengers and co. were gathered, all looking a little worse for wear.

As soon as I saw all my heroes (minus Thor) standing in the same room together I felt the immediate urge to pinch myself, which might've resulted in me trying to tear a chunk of my arm off again. That might worry Bruce, though, so I decided against it. As calm as I may sound, to say I was internally freaking out would've been the biggest understatement of the century. I truly was trying so hard to keep my composure, but in reality, I just wanted to find a corner somewhere and scream for a few minutes or so.

My entrance held everyone's attention for a few seconds, and I subtly patted down my hair and brushed the dust and dirt off my clothes. When you enter a room full of beautiful people, especially when Chris Evans A.K.A. Captain America (A.K.A. Captain _Attractiveness_ ) was standing amongst the assemblage looking absolutely gorgeous, you wouldn't be able to help but feel a little self-conscious, with a torn tee shirt and 'I-just-got-attacked-by-a-robot' hair.

"What happened to you?" Bruce said, obviously concerned by my current roughened-up state.

"Ultron happened," Maria spoke for me, while she wobbled over to a chair and lifted her foot up to pick the glass out of it. "Ultron sent a repaired Legionnaire to the med bay, I guess when he said he wanted to end us that meant everyone in the building."

"How did you survive?" Was the first thing that came out of Tony's mouth and I could see Steve raise a brow at him.

"W-well I, um." I stuttered, as everyone seemed to lean in, expecting my answer. I started again. "It came through the ceiling and tried to come after me. It tried to grab me but I managed to get out of its grip. It flew at me again and I was up against the door, so I moved out of the way just in time and it destroyed itself breaking down the doors." That wasn't the exact truth, but it wasn't a lie either. I wasn't sure how'd they react if I told them about my powers now.

Bruce still looked concerned. "And you're not injured?"

"No no, I'm fine," I reassured him with a smile, ignoring the slight bruising that began to form on my back and shoulders as well as the ache in my neck. "Just a little shaken up." The older man nodded tiredly and turned back to the monitors he was studying.

"So, you're Mella," My head turned to see Colonel James Rhodes, who was cradling his injured arm, looking at me. "The fainting fangirl."

I couldn't help but snort before I told him. "Story of my life."

"We're glad you're safe." Steve began, and I couldn't help but blush giddily at his concern for me. Get a grip Mella, it's not as personal as you think. Cap turned his attention to Bruce. "Banner, report."

"All our work is gone," Bruce replied as he looked hopelessly at multiple monitors. "Ultron cleared out everything and used the Internet as an escape hatch."

"Ultron?" Steve muttered, confused.

"He's been in everything." Natasha Romanoff spoke up. Woah, she was way more beautiful in reality. Even dressed in gray sweats she held an air of deadly grace, and her red hair stood out like fire in the cold, metallic interior of the lab. "Files, surveillance, he probably knows more about us than we know about each other."

Rhodey shook his head walked across the lab to stand beside me. "He's in your files, he's in the Internet. What if he decides to access something a little more _exciting._ "

"Nuclear codes." Maria realised gravely.

"Nuclear codes," Rhodey confirmed. "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

The grim atmosphere in the lab increased immensely, and I couldn't help but feel immensely _awkward_ and guilty for not saying anything.

"Nukes?" Natasha queried. "He said he wanted us dead—"

"He didn't say 'dead'." Steve interrupted thoughtfully. "He said 'extinct'."

"He also said he killed somebody." Clint Barton jumped in, and I jolted because I almost forgot he was standing there off to the side. The archer looked at me and continued. "He also mentioned this person was a 'he'."

"There wasn't anyone else in the building," Maria stated, clearly puzzled.

' _Oh no_ ' was all I was thinking when Tony walked to the center of the lab with a transparent pad in his hand.

"Yes, there was." He said before he threw a hologram of Jarvis's dismantled schematic onto the lab floor, large enough for everyone to see. I stiffened at the sight of the hologram—poor _Jarvis_. I know he wasn't completely gone, but I absorbed the emotions running through the room from the others like a sponge. My father always did say I was too empathetic.

"What?" Bruce asked breathily, more to himself than to anyone else. "This is insane."

"Jarvis was the first line of defense," Steve said, his head bowed out of respect for the fallen AI. "He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense."

"No," Bruce disagreed. "Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy. This is . . . rage."

Speaking of rage, I could hear the thundering footsteps of Marvel's resident thunder from down under fall behind me. I quickly sidestepped away just as Thor stormed by in full armour and his blond hair flowing down his back. Haha, _thundering_ footsteps and _stormed_ by—I am so corny sometimes. But by Odin's beard, Thor was _huge._

Even when I knew it was coming I couldn't help but gasp when Thor grabbed Tony violently by the throat and hauled him into the air, the scene paralleled with what the Legionnaire had done to me. I rubbed my neck, remembering the sharp pain of my head snapping back as I hoped Thor would put Tony down sooner.

"It's going around." I could hear Clint comment casually at Tony and Thor as if this sort of argumentative behavior was a common occurrence. Which I'm sure it was, but not to this extent.

"Woah!" Tony gasped and grabbed at the hand around his throat. "C'mon, use your words buddy." The billionaire choked out.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." The God grounded out in rage.

"Thor! The Legionnaire." Steve reminded, and Thor dropped Tony with a huff. Thank God.

"Trail went cold after a hundred miles out, but it's headed north, and it has the scepter." Thor reported and Captain America's face became the very definition of 'I'm done' at that detail. "Now we have to go retrieve it. _Again._ "

"Genie's out of that bottle," Natasha announced. "Clear and present as Ultron."

"I don't understand." Dr. Cho said from next to the remains of a busted Legionnaire. "You created this program. Why is it trying to kill us?"

Tony turned his back to us and began to chuckle. I winced at the sound of it as Bruce hummed and shook his head disapprovingly at his friend.

Thor looked absolutely _pissed_ at Tony's behavior and waved his hammer at the genius in an almost threatening way. "You think this is funny?" Thor asked, and my heart rate sped up. This was _way_ more intense than in was on screen.

"No," Tony replied, scarily casual. "It's probably not, right? This is really terrible? Is it so...Is it so...It is. It's so terrible."

Thor put on his most patronizing voice. "This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand—"

"No. I'm sorry." Tony interrupted as he approached the God. "I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we _need_ this."

Bruce broke in. "Tony maybe this might not be the time—"

"Really? That's it?" Tony asked back exasperatedly. "You just roll over, show your belly, every time somebody snarls."

"Only when I've created a murder-bot," Bruce replied breathily and motioned to me with a wave of his hand. "That almost killed a civilian!" I wanted to let out a little 'aww' at Bruce's concern as his was definitely more specific than just general concern for an innocent person, but that would probably be as inappropriate as Tony's laughter.

"But it didn't! We didn't!" Tony argued and looked between Bruce and I. "We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Bruce shook his shoulders a bit before he gingerly nodded in confirmation.

Steve cut in. "Well you did something right, and you did it right here." Cap stepped up towards Tony, looking thoroughly disappointed. "The Avengers were supposed to be different than S.H.I.E.L.D."

Tony raised his hand and closed his eyes as if he was trying to remember something. "Does anyone remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole? Saved New York? Recall that?"

"No. It's never come up. Never heard that." James cut in sarcastically, while everyone rolled their eyes at Tony. Not me, I was too invested in what Tony was about to say to not take him seriously in that moment.

"A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space," Tony recounted. "We're standing three hundred feet bellow it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live-long day but that up there, that's...that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?"

Steve's face looked absolute, and I waited for him to say one of my favorite lines. "Together."

"We'll lose." Tony shot back.

"Then we'll do that together too."

I let the corners of my mouth turn up a little. I weirdly felt like a proud mother, but I also felt a pang of sympathy towards Tony as he turned away from the rest of the group, defeated.

"Thor's right." Steve continued. "Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place, let's start making it smaller."

"Before we even get to that," Clint started and his eyes darted to me. "What are we going to do about her?"

The skin on my thumbs suddenly became the most interesting thing in the room as I gently scratched at it, doing my best to avoid direct eye contact with anyone in the room. Which was hard of course since everyone was now looking right at me. Should I have said something?

"Might I ask who this is?" I heard Thor ask and Tony and I turned to face him, the God's tone was significantly different. He spoke as if he was embarrassed; like he knew my name before but forgot it. It didn't matter, though, because it was so damn adorable!

"Mella Kate." I answered and Maria followed.

"She was the girl we found a few days ago."

"The one that fell through the strange portal?" Thor remembered and Maria nodded.

"Nice to meet you, all of you, I mean." I greeted shyly, and the God replied with a curt nod. "I'm a huge fan of you guys." God, I really couldn't help myself could I? I needed to be stopped. Curse my fangirly-ness! Could I sound any more like a stalker?

"Well, since we're all gathered." Maria began, her eyes narrowing slightly when she looked my way. "We might as well discuss a specific problem we have with our guest here."

I swallowed nervously and everyone's gazes intensified. Bruce looked as confused as the rest of them, and looked back and forth between Maria and I. "Problem? What problem?" He asked.

"The problem being that after doing an extremely extensive search, there is nothing to be found about Mella Kate or her father Gerard Kate." The former S.H.E.I.L.D. explained. "No birth certificates, no accounts, nor is there any experimental physicist named Gerard Kate anywhere in the vicinity of Australia."

Everyone tensed, immediately on guard again, and I winced at Maria's flat and brutal tone. I didn't deny anything she spoke of, though. "When did you find out?"

Maria pursed her lips before saying. "Does it matter?"

"It does when you prevent to tell me, your _boss._ " Tony bit back and turned to the former S.H.E.I.L.D. agent.

"I was notified of Kate's-"

"If that is even her name." Clint cut in and shot me a look and I could feel my face heat up. I hated being put on the spot.

I looked away from his fiery glare. "It is."

"I was notified of her status two hours into the party after you had arrived," Maria informed her boss. "I was going to tell you after the party when we weren't tipsy. Kate posed no immediate threat so I didn't feel the need to notify you right away."

"And I just wanted to put out there that I still don't pose a threat." I threw in, my hands up in surrender. "Really, I couldn't do anything to you guys even if I tried."

"Damn right." I could hear Clint mutter to himself and Natasha shot him a look that said a lot more than I could decipher.

"My name really is Mella Kate, though," I began, still unsure how to go about explaining the whole 'not from this dimension' thing. "And my father is Gerard Kate. He is an experimental physicist based in Australia."

Maria looked me up and down, I think she knew I was telling the truth but was still unsure. "If you are who you say you are, how do explain a lack of records?"

"I said my father and I lived in Perth, Australia," I said slowly. "We just don't live in _your_ Australia," I added, hoping they'd catch my drift.

Steve and most of the others looked fifty shades of confused, and Tony clicked his fingers and pointed at Bruce. "He called it—transdimensional travel."

"Or time travel." Bruce reminded and the two scientists looked to me for confirmation.

"It's two thousand and fifteen and there are no records of me, I'd say transdimensional travel." I confirmed for them and the older men looked incredibly intrigued.

Dr. Cho looked fascinated as well. "Another dimension? How did you end up here?"

"It was an accident."

"So you do remember what happened to you?" Bruce concluded and I smiled apologetically.

"From the beginning. I'm sorry I didn't tell you at the time, I really am, I just needed time to wrap my head around the situation." I explained, hoping they would accept it because it the only explanation I could really give them.

"That doesn't matter, you still lied." Steve reprimanded and my head dropped.

"Well, I wasn't exactly lying, per say." I said and twiddled my thumbs nervously.

"Then you better start telling the truth," Steve ordered.

"All of it," Natasha added, arms crossed tightly.

Bruce, being the angel that he was, didn't look upset with me at all. "What happened then?" He asked gently, curious. So I told them.

"My father was working on this project; instant teleportation." My voice immediately became more chipper at the mention of my father's work. "He was doing ground-breaking research into creating these pads that could teleport you from one location to another in seconds. He wanted them to be used for everyone's benefit—'whether it was to get a man to work on time or get children out of a disaster zone.'" I quoted myself, and my voice dropped, the thoughts of my father being alone and thinking he might have lost me clouded my mind.

I didn't know how they'd react to the highly unethical methods my father was using to conduct his experiments, as well as the illegality of, so I left it out. I told them I had gone to visit him at his lab and everything went wrong there. I know that meant I was lying to them again, and I felt horrible. But what if they knew it was illegal? I needed their help to get back home and they might have second thoughts, plus there was the thought that he might've been experimenting on me, and I didn't want to Steve to get all concerned about me being an abused child or something. I prayed they wouldn't hate me too much later.

"Experiment gone wrong. Why am I not surprised?" I heard Rhodes mutter after my explanation.

"I was," I said, head bowed again. "I didn't even know he had actually accomplished teleporting something without destroying it."

"As revolutionary as this is, we're going to have to put this on the back burner." Natasha said and my mouth fell open slightly at the apathy in her voice. I was starting to sense that she didn't like me. "We have bigger things to deal with."

"She's right." Steve agreed, but his eyes were apologetic. "We're sorry to leave you hanging like this, but Ultron comes first, a lot of people could get hurt."

I knew that of course, so I nodded in response and asked. "What will you do with me then?"

"We're sending you to a remote facility out of the city; the tower's not safe for you anymore," Maria replied. "You'll be there until all of this blows over, then we figure out then what we can do for you."

"And a cab and security are on its way," Tony spoke again for the first time since Cap shot him down. "Let's wrap it up people, big day." Unanimous agreement spread through the group, and Tony began to approach me as everyone else made their move to leave to escort me out.

No. It couldn't end like this, not when there was so much I could do with what I knew. It was my chance to help, as much as I could. It was the right thing to do, and even though I had no idea how to go about this, I wasn't about to let this opportunity slip through my fingers. I took a deep breath and clenched my eyes shut for a moment.

"Wait!"

All eyes were on me again, but my eyes were on Tony, who stopped about a foot and a half in front of me. "Don't send me away."

Clint stepped down from the upper deck. "Kid, we know you're scared—"

"—I know you know I'm scared. A robot attacked me less than twenty minutes ago." I rehashed as if they'd all forgotten. "But . . . what if I told you I could help you?"

Thor's grip on the Mjolnir tightened as he eyed me. "Help us how?"

"With Ultron, of course." I said simply, and I got a variety of different reactions from everyone. Most were confusion, some were of disbelief and some were of curiosity. If this were a scene in the actual film, I'm sure someone would have made an analysis of every character's reaction and posted it on Tumblr.

Thor for one looked bewildered. "You can help us defeat him?"

Ok, now I was annoyed. Sure I looked like some helpless kid, but the God didn't have to make it sound like I was completely incompetent. I knew they didn't know that I took down the Legionnaire on my own, but that was enough for me to convince myself that I wasn't completely incapable of defending myself. So I puffed out my chest slightly and answered confidently (well, it was the fake kind of confidence, the kind you convince yourself is real—fake it 'til you make it, right? "I know I can help you guys get there."

"How?" Tony demanded.

"Well . . ." I sucked in a deep breathe. If this was a fanfiction this was the moment all the readers would have been waiting for, the big reveal. Now or never right? Let's hope there's been enough build up, and see where this goes. "I kind of . . . I might've . . . well, I know how this is all gonna go down. I've seen it."

Wow, a sentence full of dubious pauses and unsettling vagueness? Good job Mella, pat on the back for you.

Bruce stepped closer to me, dark eyes just as intrigued as they were when I confessed I was from a different dimension. "What do you mean you've 'seen it'?"

Thor had stopped looking at me like a child. His eyes were wide as he stared me with a newfound reverence before he spoke. "Are you a seer? A prophet of sorts?"

"Oh! I . . ." I trailed off. This was perfect. This way I wouldn't have to tell them about how their entire world is fictional. It's not like they would become complacent if they knew this world was a film and the heroes always won. They would try twice as hard to make sure that that cliché ending would become a reality. Speaking of reality, they didn't really need to deal with the fact they were movie characters while Ultron was on the loose.

So I took the chance. "I'm sort of like a seer, but it's more like I just know things." It wasn't exactly a complete lie, but if I told them the truth it would only complicate things. "Let's just say I have an intimate knowledge of events that have occurred and will occur in this universe. Why do you think that during this entire discussion I never once asked who Ultron was?"

That woke them up a little.

"I never had to ask because I knew who he was— an artificial intelligence peacekeeping program created by Tony and had done further work on with Bruce with decrypted code derived from the gem in Loki's Sceptre. It was previously possessed by Baron von Strucker, which the Avengers retrieved from a Hydra base in Sokovia." I elaborated in detail, and Tony looked like he was about to explode.

"How could you possibly know that?" Bruce queried. "Are you saying you don't exist in our world but we exist in yours?"

"But that's it, you don't exist in our world, not technically." I tried to explain without giving anything about them being fictional away. "People like me have the ability to see into other worlds, and we've never really been able to do anything to actually change the course of these worlds, or even enter them. Until now." I said and looked to my hands for affect. Wow. I wondered if they could tell how much I was bullshitting right now.

But the allusion flowed out of my mouth perfectly. 'People like me' equated to basically any fangirl or boy who was so obsessed with their fandoms they new the content inside-out. I went on and added the final touches to my backstory. "It's kind of like watching past lives, except some of the events that look as if they happened in the past didn't actually happen or take place in a world that isn't the earth as we know it."

"What a strange reality." Dr. Cho voiced but still looked a little skeptical of the idea.

"Hey, you guys have Gods and aliens, we have people who can see into other dimensions." I bit my lip and quickly darted my eyes around the room. They all almost looked as if they believed me! Then again, I wasn't really lying. What if everyone back home were looking into different dimensions and didn't even know it? Oh my God if the Harry Potter universe was an actual dimension though, I'd cry.

I smiled at Helen. "And you don't know the half of it. I'm surprised we haven't invented teleportation already, considering the things my people have seen." I laughed at my own little joke because according to me Doctor Who was such a great starting point for scientific discoveries.

"So you know all our stories?" Steve diverged. "All our secrets?" This got everyone's attention and made them very uncomfortable. I know I'd be if someone knew all my secrets, like if my dad found my smut fanfiction bookmarks folder on my computer, it would be a _nightmare._

"Not all your secrets," I spoke in honestly. Of course, I didn't know everything about them (unfortunately), but I knew enough to say that I loved them, even more so now that they were real. "But I know enough that you are all good people and I can honestly say that I love you guys so much that it hurts. It still hurts actually, because I really want to tell you guys what I know but I can't because every sci-fi movie ever says that messing with the course of a world's timeline could have drastic effects on the universe."

Everyone looked to be contemplating my words, and Steve was perplexed by my earlier request. "But you want to help anyway?"

"Of course. I feel guilty enough that I can't tell you what I've learned, and real lives are at risk here, so I know it's the right thing to do." I answered, the tug-o-war in my head from before was resurfacing. Tell them! Don't tell! It's the course of the whole universe versus the people of one planet! I pushed all those thoughts aside. "I know I can help, and, um, now I'm not asking for any guarantees or anything, but when this does blow over, maybe you could help me find a way home."

"We would help you, regardless if you could help us." Bruce announced, as if the very thought of them not helping me was absurd. I was incredibly touched by that.

"Hold up," Tony stated, one brow raised as he looked around the room at his teammates and colleagues. "We're just going to believe her? Just like that? Is no one going to question the actual credibility of all this?"

I sighed, I knew Tony might react like that. Someone had to be the most skeptical. But I knew exactly how to make him believe me. I went over and grabbed the older man by the hand and dragged him to the farthest corner of the lab before I let him go to face him.

Tony gave me a weird look. "What are you—"

"-You were kidnapped by a terrorist group while doing an overseas weapon's test and ended up with shrapnel in your chest." I started. "A man named Yinsen put a magnet in your chest that helped stop the shrapnel from doing you in. You were forced into building a weapon, but instead you created the arc reactor for the shrapnel in your chest and the first model of the Iron Man suit to escape, but Yinsen didn't make it which affected you deeply." I watch Tony's expression evolve from light suspicious to full-blown emotion overload. I really hoped he had a handle on his PTSD or else I would've been the insensitive bitch that sent Tony into a panic attack.

I went on. "Later when you arrived in the US you refined the suit and used it to fight crime after you announced that Stark Industries would no longer be creating weapons. You later find out that you were betrayed by your trusted business partner Obadiah Stane, who's arse you kicked later with the help of your girlfriend-whom you should hurry up and make your wife-Pepper Potts. And finally during a press conference you thought 'fuck it' and told the whole world you're Iron Man."

Huh, by the look on his face, I think I've just left Tony Stark, of all people, speechless. "You are one of the best heroes out there. You're up there with the greats, but you crossed a line. You had good intentions but you messed up real bad this time, both you and Bruce, but I know you'll fix this. I have so much faith in you."

Tony didn't say anything for a while, and for a minute, I thought I hadn't gotten through to him. Then he spoke. "Look kid, I believe you, and I might even admit it's admirable for you to want to help, but I don't think Captain Appropriate Language over there—" He nodded over to Steve, who was staring at us two with the rest of the assembly, wondering what was so important that I had to speak to Tony alone. "—would let a civilian rush into battle."

I repressed a laughed and nodded. "I understand. Someone has to be the responsible one, right?"

"Hey!"

"Besides," I said, ignoring the older man's annoyed face. "I think I might be a little more capable than you think." I bit my lip but I couldn't stop the smirk that graced my lips. I decided to be a little cheeky—I have no idea why, though. This world made me bolder somehow, so with a flick of my hand, I opened a portal next to me and stepped into it before Tony had any time to react.

I was lost in a world of white for a second, but I had already thought of my destination. My exit portal opened up next to Clint on the other side of the lab. Everyone whipped their heads around to stare at me, but more at the glowing blue portal that was next to me. I pointed at it and grinned at Tony. "Are you impressed? I only learned how to do that a few hours ago!"

Everyone remained silent for a few seconds, and Bruce kept opening his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Maria, call off the cab." Tony declared. "The kid's sticking around."

* * *

I yawned as I finished the coffee I had made with gusto. I wasn't usually one for caffeine but it was definitely needed after the amount of sleep I got, well, more like lack of it. None of us got much sleep, and I knew that we weren't going to get any for a while.

After Tony announced I was allowed to stay and assist them, of course, everyone had their doubts about the whole thing, but Tony and I were absolute in our resolve that even Steve and his beautiful disapproving stare couldn't stop us. Of course, all the scientists in the room had erupted with questions about my powers. I told them I had no idea how I got them, but before Helen left for Korea she theorised that they might have been caused by radiation or exotic matter I might have absorbed when I came through the initial portal that leads to this dimension. I agreed to let Tony and Bruce examine me further after this was over though I knew Bruce wouldn't actually be there at the end to do so. I tried not to dwell on that.

I was currently making hot beverages for everyone in the break room. It was six in the morning and everyone needed a little pick me up since I'm pretty sure none of them had a proper breakfast. I wouldn't stand for that. There was now a tray filled with steaming cups and plate filled with heated croissants and muesli bars. Sorry, granola bars. I was in the U.S. of A. after all.

The fact that I was in the MCU still got to me. It happened just moments ago! My thought process was like—'Okay, that's six cups of coffee, I wonder if any of them would like milk—LORD ABOVE I'M GETTING THE AVENGERS _BREAKFAST_!' It was like my brain was constantly giving itself whiplash.

There was too much stuff to carry, but I, fortunately, found a little metal cart made for transporting food. I loaded up and slipped on my jacket before I went on my way. Maria had apparently ordered clothes for me to be shipped off to the location they were originally going to place me in, but after last night, she had them shipped over to the tower and had them waiting outside the door to my gorgeous guest bedroom. The room was breathtaking. Classic gold and steel colours with Tony's futuristic interior design, plus you could see all of New York from the window.

I was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans with a pair of ankle boots, a blue tee shirt and a cute leather jacket I had found amongst the bags of clothing. It wasn't my usual style, but it was practical.

Maria! That's right, I had to remind myself that I needed to ask her something.

I wheeled the cart all the way to the lab and poked my head inside. I could see Nat right off the bat looking as lovely as always, sitting at a computer with eyes darting all over the screen. I swallowed nervously. I knew she didn't like me because she was suspicious, which sucked because I adore her. Man, I was such a coward. I couldn't even step one foot inside the lab to give one-half of my OTP sustenance because I was too afraid she was going to jump and rip my throat out.

"I suggest you hurry up and get inside, the smell of that coffee is becoming increasingly distracting."

"Did someone say coffee?"

My face flushed. Feeling incredibly embarrassed I rolled into the lab with my head bowed to try and hide my burning cheeks. I parked next to the desk Natasha was working at and finally noticed Clint as he walked over from across the room towards the cart and me.

Despite my shyness, I smiled at the older man and offered him a cup of black coffee, which he accepted appreciatively, muttering "Godsend" under his breath before he took a long sip.

"Good morning." I greeted, offering the archer one of the chopped up granola bars which he took as well. "Did you guys get any rest?"

"As much as we could get under these conditions," Clint replied and threw the food in his mouth.

"Nothing we can't handle." Natasha said as if she was reminding me, and I turned to her with another cup of coffee in my hand. She gave me a look and then looked at the cup. I placed it gently on the desk next to her hand and she took a hold of it. Thank God, I was getting worried I had misread the sign.

She took a sip. "Sleepless nights are just a part of the job."

"All for a good cause." I tried with a smile, but the redhead didn't even look up.

There was a tap on my shoulder. "Don't let her get to you, kid," Clint whispered. "She's like that with everyone who's new to this." New to this? Did he mean 'Avenging'? I didn't have the opportunity to ask because his phone began to ring. He looked at the number and set his mug down. "Gotta take this, be right back." And he left the room. It must've been Laura.

There was a small moment of silence, and Natasha spoke up.

"Have I been making you uncomfortable?" She smirked, and turned to face me.

"Uh . . . yes." I said honestly and rearranged the food and drink on the cart in an attempt to distract myself from the anxiousness I was currently feeling under the redhead's judgmental stare.

"Good." Said Natasha. She was watching me like a hawk, counting my breaths and analyzing every shift in my body. It was really unsettling, how her calculating green eyes seemed to predict every move I made before I even thought about it. But this was Natasha freaking Romanoff we were talking about, and I wouldn't have her any other way.

Her smirk fell into a frown. "You may have gotten on Stark's good side, but that doesn't mean we don't know you're hiding something."

Damn! And I thought I was doing a pretty good job at lying, but at the same time, it didn't surprise me that they realised that I wasn't being completely honest. "Was I that obvious?"

"To almost everyone in the lab last night? No, and I'll give you that." I nearly squealed. The Black Widow just praised me! Nat shrugged and went on. "'Being able to look into other worlds'? Never fooled me for a second."

"Because you're just that good?" I couldn't help but say.

"There's that," She admitted playfully before becoming serious once again. "And if you know as much about me as you say you do, then you'd know I'm the last person to underestimate a _little girl_."

I grimaced, Natasha's Red Room flashbacks coming to my mind. I cleared my throat. "Is this the part where you torture me for information?"

She scared the crap out of me for a second because she actually looked like she was considering it before she said "No. Everyone has their secrets, and you are entitled to yours."

"Thank you, then, for understanding." I felt like jumping with joy. Nat didn't want to rip my throat out!

"It wouldn't matter anyway." The redhead brushed off, her eyes returning to her screen. "I have a feeling that we'll find out what you're hiding soon enough."

"Right . . ." She wasn't wrong, they were probably going to find out soon or later. About the true nature of my father's experiment and the fact that 'looking into other worlds' meant 'fangirls/boys who are obsessed with the Avengers because you're awesome and _fictional_.'

"The other boys are up in the office," Natasha said pointed to the stairs leading up to the office area of the lab. "Do you mind fetching Stark for me?"

"Of course not." I looked to the stairs and then glanced at the cart. "Is Bruce up there?"

"Yes."

"Good." I grabbed a mug and a plate of croissants and made my way up the stairs. I entered the office area and saw Tony working on a tablet and Bruce at his own computer. Both looked more tired that they normally did, Bruce especially. What I didn't expect was bumping into Thor on the way in and almost spilling a scolding hot drink down my front.

"Oh! Thor, sorry." I quickly apologised, and sidestepped around the God, hot drink sloshing around the mug from all the movement.

"Good morning, Lady Mella!" Thor boomed, the sour look on his face moment ago had disappeared and a bright smile replaced it. God, he had a lovely smile. "I trust you got some rest."

"Yes, I trust you got some as well." I said, then 'Mama-bear' mode came back on and I looked him up and down. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Uh . . ." The God stumbled, startled by my sudden assertiveness.

"Pop tarts don't count." I scolded, knowing exactly what was on his mind from the look on his face. "There's some coffee and bread outside, have at it." I gently used my shoulder because my hands weren't free to nudge him to the stairs and he got the message and headed out.

"Only been awake for less than a day and she's already bossing us around." Tony murmured.

"Breakfast is important," I said simply and paced the plate and mug next to Bruce.

Tony stared me down. "If it's so important then how come I don't have a ham and cheese croissant sitting in front of me?"

"Because there's more outside and Nat is calling you down there anyway." I explained, and Tony was down the stairs in a matter of seconds. I wasn't sure if it was because he was hungry, or he didn't want to piss anyone off. It made sense, he was in the deep end as it was.

"Thank you." Bruce got out and looked down at the mug next to him. He picked it up. "Is this green tea?"

"I knew you wouldn't drink coffee." I explained and leaned up against the free wall space next to the desk. "Got to remember your heart rate." He almost looked surprised, but then remembered what I had said the previous night. Of course, I knew he was the Hulk, he was my favorite Avenger after all. He was probably wondering why I wasn't afraid of him or something.

I looked down at the monitor he was working at, curious. "What are you working on?"

"A way to stop Ultron." Said Bruce. "Tony and I have been trying to figure out a way to trap him, force him into one unit and stop him from escaping using the Internet again."

I groaned. "Must be hard, considering Ultron looks like he's really good at multitasking."

"Exactly." The older man rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "He's _everywhere_."

I thought about this for a moment. "So, you're creating an Internet-wide anti-virus to kick Ultron off the net and add a security lock so he can't back in?"

"Basically," Bruce answered. I may not be as good with science as my father, but I knew my way around a computer. Jack was a technology wiz and helped me with that. We once hacked into the school's system and changed the school website's daily 'Christian Message' on the homepage to "SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE!" for Kay's birthday. He absolutely loved it, but the Principle was _pissed._ No one ever knew it was, mainly because no one would think anyone in our group had the balls to do something like that. Except for Lana, of course.

The older man took a bite from his croissant and a sip from his mug and pointed to the monitor. "The problems with creating an anti-virus this big—"

"—Is that it would take a while to create considering the ground it would need to cover. A few days at the most." I finished and added solemnly. "Time we don't have."

Bruce sighed. "Ultron's moving too fast, even for us."

I grabbed a hold of his callused hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. "There's only so much you can do, Bruce. All anyone can really do is try."

A moment later Bruce squeezed my hand back. "You do know that if this blows over—"

"— _When_ this blows over." I corrected him. I did not need any pessimism right now.

"When this blows over," Bruce repeated. "You do know we will do everything we can to get you back home, right?"

I felt like tearing up. Bruce was so sweet. I swung our joint hands back and forth a little as if I was a child again with my father. "And like I said before; I won't hold it against you if you can't."

"Bruce! Lady Mella! The Captain brings news!" We heard Thor call. Aw, my moment with Bruce was ruined. Oh well. Bruce and I ran down the stairs to meet up with the rest of the Avengers who gathered around Natasha.

"What's this?" Tony asked as Steve handed a tablet to Thor. The God glanced at it before slapping it into Tony's chest.

"A message," Steve answered. "Ultron killed Strucker," Steve announced, much to everyone's confusion.

Tony examined the evidence. "And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Bruce and I looked over Tony's shoulder to take a look, and I cringed at the sight of Strucker's bloodied dead body, and the ironic message that was written on the wall in blood.

"Christ." I cursed and took the tablet from Tony. It was so much more gruesome, seeing this picture this way, knowing that in this world that was real blood that had been spilt. Bruce saw my reaction to it and tried to reach for the tablet, but I moved away and zoomed in on Strucker's injuries. I could handle it. I knew I had to be stronger to survive in a world like this.

"This is a smoke screen." Natasha summarised but was still confused. "Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve guessed and looked to me for confirmation. I nodded.

"Yeah, I bet he—" Natasha paused tapped away at her keyboard. "Yeah, everything we had on Strucker's been erased."

"Not everything." I spoke on Tony's behalf before I turned to the man himself. "You must have files somewhere, stuff that hasn't been digitalised and shoved onto a data bank."

"As a matter of fact, I do."

Half an hour later, dozens of boxes were scattered around the office area of the lab. Everyone was searching for anything on Strucker, and I had been trying to find the file on Klaue for almost ten minutes though I knew it would show up near Bruce eventually.

"Known associates." Steve read off a box as he set it down on the table. "Baron Strucker had a lot of friends."

That's when I saw the file. "Found it!" I declared and handed the file to Tony.

"Yeah, I know this guy." Tony confirmed and flicked through the file. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms."

Steve gave Tony a look and he was quick to defend himself. "There are conventions, all right? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything."

"They have conventions for that kinda thing?" I heard myself wonder out loud. I remember asking myself that the first time I watched AoU.

"You'd be surprised." Tony replied and began to recall what he knew about Klaue. "He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It wall was all very Ahab."

Thor pointed at something on a picture of Klaue. "This?"

Tony examined the photo. "It's a tattoo. I don't think he had back then."

" _Those_ are tattoos," Thor motioned to Klaue's tattoos before he pointed to his odd looking scar. "This is a brand."

"Oh, yeah." Bruce was already at his desk and searched up the meaning of the brand. "It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief', in a much less friendly way."

Steve was curious. "What dialect?"

"Wakanada? Wa-Wa, Wakanda." Bruce stammered before finally getting the word right.

Tony and Steve turned to each other and began to speak lowly about what Klaue could've gotten out of Wakanda, but none of them understood what they were talking about except for me of course.

Bruce got out his chair. "I don't follow, what comes out of Wakanda?"

"The strongest metal on earth." I said and took a peak at Cap's shield that laid propped up against a set of drawers behind him.

Cap turned to look at his shield before he turned back to ask Tony and me. "Where is this guy now?"

"On a salvage yard, somewhere off the African coast." I answered. I could hear Natasha move behind me to Bruce's computer.

"I've got him." Natasha spoke after a minute and showed us the monitor, which now held a map and set of coordinates.

"Then we know where we're headed. Suit up." Steve directed.

I jumped in before anyone could move. "I'm coming with you."

"Absolutely not." Steve shot back. "Am I right in assuming that you have no experience in any type of militaristic situation where violence is necessary?"

"I have an extensive knowledge of first aid?" I offered, but Steve didn't look amused.

"Not enough." Steve went on. "If you come with us you would be putting yourself at risk, and the last thing any of us wants to do is put a civilian in the line of fire." I looked around the room and everyone was staring at me with . . . concern? It made me feel a little fuzzy, but I knew better. It was their job to protect. If they let anything happen to me I could only imagine the guilt they would feel for letting someone they could have protected better . . . die.

However, I knew what I was doing.

"Don't you think I know that?" I started. "I know there will be risks involved, but it doesn't matter. I know a way that I can help you and it involves me coming with you to Africa. Helping you guys is what's important to me."

"Mella." Bruce placed a hand on my shoulder. "Even with the help of your powers, you could lose your life."

"But it's _my_ life to give." I countered. "Right now I don't know if I can get home, and I'm taking the benefit of the doubt in saying I can't. It's not like my death would affect anyone here anyway. So if I can't go home the last thing I'd want to do is to help the people that have inspired me my whole life." I smiled at Bruce. "I think dying while doing the right thing is a pretty good way to go."

Everyone was stunned. I think I might have broken them. I mean, I get I was being a little dramatic, but the people in this world were real, so if I can help the Avengers save more lives, what is my life worth against all of those people? I would gladly lay down my life in a second if it meant I could save someone else's. Wait, did I just say that?

Maybe I was less of a coward as previously thought.

Tony was the first to speak. "How can you help us?" That earned him another dirty look from Steve.

"Ultron recruited the Maximoffs, right?" I began and looked at Steve. I knew he was the one I needed to convince if I wanted to go with them. "What if I could convince them to join us against Ultron?"

Natasha looked interested. "You could do that?"

"I know what it's like to lose family." I said softly and tapped my temple. "Plus I know something about Ultron that'll send them running right to you."

Clint crossed his arms. "And how are you planning on convincing them of this?"

"Well, they won't recognise me since I'm not an Avenger, so they might not attack me . . . right away." I scratched my neck sheepishly. "It'll be hit or miss, but if I can just get Wanda to read my mind then we'll be in the clear. Please, let me try."

"She has the resolve of a warrior before battle." Thor marveled. "I say she comes."

"But is she _ready_ for the battle?" Steve questioned.

"There's only one way to find out." Tony said as he grabbed a phone out of his pocket. "I'm calling up Maria, Crocodile Dundee's gonna need a suit."

My mouth dropped, and no it was not because of the nickname Tony just gave me (Iron Man just gave me a _nickname_!), but due to what he said. I was going!

* * *

I was then lead by Maria to the gym change rooms where she gave some clothing better suited for the field. I was dressed in a pair of tight leather pants with a pair of black calf-high, steel capped boots. Tucked into the pants was a long-sleeved, blue, under-armor shirt that wrapped around my torso at tightly as the pants. Over the shirt, I wore a thicker leather jacket that folded over my front and zipped. I thought I looked pretty badass if I do say so myself.

I pulled my dark hair up into a ponytail and went in search of supplies. I really did have an extensive knowledge of first aid; I kind of had to since I was a babysitter. Kids were always getting themselves hurt. I found what I needed and placed them in a bag that sat on my right hip.

I also grabbed a duffel bag and ran around to get things to fill it up. I managed to grab some clothes for the twins. I knew they would need it. Wanda was lucky because I found this beautiful long and fitting red shirt and a pair of black tights in the bags of clothes Maria got me. Pietro just ended up with some under armour shirts, biker pants and a pair of Adidas shoes from the change room. Talk about product placement. I also managed to pack some food from the break room in there, because being a speedster meant you had a fast metabolism, so Pietro might've been a little thankful for a Gatorade and a bag of Doritos.

"Mella?" I could hear Maria say as she entered the change room.

I zipped up the duffel bag and turned to face her. She held out her hand and in it was a small, circular device that looked like a metal badge.

"It's the homing device you requested. The button on the side is what sends out the tracking signal." Maria explained. I smiled and took it from her and pinned it to the shirt under my jacket. I had requested a device that could only send out a distress signal when activated just in case I got lost or captured. Bruce had quickly seconded the idea.

"Thank you." I said and shouldered the duffel bag, ready to head out to the hanger. "Um, Maria?"

"Yes?"

"When I came through the portal, I didn't happen to carry anything through with me, did I?" I said. I really wanted to know what happened to the DVD.

Maria nodded. "Yes, a DVD, but it was completely destroyed. Burnt and melted." So they did have it, but it was destroyed. Thank God! It was better that way. "We were having Jarvis analyse it before he was destroyed by Ultron. Was it something important?'

"No! No, it was just something I had bought that day." I described hastily. "Just a movie I had been wanting to get for a while." And with that, I waved at Maria in farewell and headed for the hanger. I was off to Africa.

I was about to meet the Maximoff twins, but that weird feeling in my stomach told me our meeting was going to be anything but pleasant.


	4. Chapter 4: Late Reaction

**AN: So I'm not dead and here's the new chapter so don't crucify me (please). Also—**

 **THE CIVIL WAR IS APPROACHING!**

 **So much stuff is being released, new trailers and clips—and speaking of new trailers, DID YOU GUYS CATCH THE NEW DOCTOR STRANGE TRAILER!? BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AND HIS AMERICAN ACCENT** ** _SLAYS ME_** **!**

 **But in all seriousness I am so excited for Civil War, my friends and I have booked tickets to see it in IMAX on the first weekend after it's release here in Australia and shit is about to go** ** _down_** **. But more importantly:**

 **QUESTION: Which side are** ** _you_** **on? Team Cap or Team Iron Man?**

 **I'd really like to know because I haven't chosen myself, and I'm not sure if ever I will. I'm Switzerland at the moment.**

 **Last note is that I've deleted all the previous chapters of the original fic but left the letter to let people know that story is beingj rewritten, just because they were annoying me. SO anyone who wanted to read the original can't, but it's not like I'd recommend it anyway.**

 **On with the fic!**

* * *

 _"_ _Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word."_

 _―_ _George R.R. Martin_

* * *

"This is a _bad_ idea." I heard Clint say, and the archer turned in the Quinjet's pilot seat to look at me over his shoulder. "Actually, scratch that. This is _insane_."

"Well, it's too late now." I shrugged and smiled half-heartedly. "We're already half-way around the world."

"Hear that Barton? Dundee says it's too late to put your foot down." Tony sang but his eyes didn't shift up from a gadget he was fiddling with in his hands.

I could hear Clint mutter something about not being the team's 'daddy dearest' and I had to suppress a laugh. The only member of the team with children said he wasn't the team's 'dad'? How ironic.

"But what's insane?" Bruce asked from his seat next to me and nudged my shoulder with his. "The fact we're bringing a minor into harms way, or the fact that Steve allowed it?"

"Maybe it's the fact that somehow we all went along with it," Natasha suggested dryly from her seat across from us and I had to agree with her.

The team and I were all seated in the Quinjet that was set a course for the coast of Africa. Bruce and I had grabbed seats next to one another on the left-hand side of the jet, with Tony and Natasha seated across from us on the island of seats in the center, while Cap and Thor opted to stand and wander around the aircraft once it was stable in the air.

The dark interior of the Quinjet was illuminated by gentle lights, which melted into the harsh beams that entered through jet's windshield. It created a bleaching effect on everyone around me and fueled my dreamlike state of mind. The way the light haloed everyone made it feel as if Thor wasn't the only God in the Quinjet. What I meant was that everything still felt so surreal, my mind was still battling between complete belief and collapsing in on itself from blissful shock. This feeling wasn't the same as what I had experienced when I was serving the Avengers breakfast, no, it was more like the doubt that plagued me when I was locked in the med bay; when I realised I was in the MCU.

I felt eyes on and I turned to see Steve who stared at me intently. Normally I would have looked away when I met someone's eyes like this, and I almost did, but Cap's blue eyes were intense as if they were demanding me to hold their gaze. They were a pale blue, but didn't look like they had me all figured out like Natasha's eyes had; they were conflicted and filled with questions. Was taking me with them the right idea? What was I hiding? I, of course, had no answers for his questions. I think Steve could see that, so we offered each other secretive smiles and looked away.

"Speaking of minor, I don't think I caught how old you were, kid," Clint asked.

". . . Seventeen." I replied hesitantly, and I could hear the sound of Clint slapping his thigh before calling out—

"Practically a baby!"

"I get it, ok? I'm a fetus." I threw in with a sheepish look, and Thor laughed.

"Fear not, Lady Mella," The God relieved. "I was younger than thee when I went on my first adventure."

"By Asgardian standards, you mean?" I guessed. What would that be? Sixteen hundred years old?

"Aye, but I was still just a boy." Thor had a far-off look in his eyes. "And it was such a long time ago . . ."

Oh, he was thinking of Loki. I brushed some loose strands of hair behind my ear and spoke again. "When you say adventure, do you mean something more along the lines of a _mis_ adventure? With your brother, perhaps?"

Thor looked at me strangely before he agreed whole-heartedly. " _Indeed_! My brother and I shared many quests together since I can remember."

The others turned all their attention to Thor and I. I could feel Bruce turn and look at me directly, his silence asked me where I was headed with this conversation, but I paid him no mind.

"I'm sure it must have been so exciting," I grinned at the blond God. "A tale of epic events. I'd love to hear it someday."

Thor grinned as well. "If the time allows, my lady, if the time allows." The small amount of tension that had built up in the jet had diffused instantly. I glanced at Bruce who now gazed at me with new understanding; I was trying to offer Thor some comfort. He probably couldn't remember the last time someone spoke of his brother without disdain, malice or fear in their voice, let alone actually ask to hear more about him.

For the rest of the trip, I spoke to Bruce mostly. I felt the most at ease with him, which he would probably find hard to believe if I told him. He was my favorite Avenger after all, and just being able to speak to him now reminded me of my father. The way he would use his hands a lot when he spoke, especially when it's about his work, was something my father did a lot. Now that I'd thought about, it was something I did a lot as well, especially if I was explaining the concept behind an artwork.

What I also noticed was the way he would, every few moments or so, steal glances at Natasha when he thought she wasn't looking, and I had caught Natasha doing the same only once, but I had no doubts she stole as many glances as Bruce did. Natasha was an expert in stealth after all. It made my little fangirl heart race because Brutasha was my otp at the moment. Fangirls and fanboys everywhere would do anything for such an opportunity as this, to see these beautiful moments between their otps not seen on screen, and I couldn't help but bask a little in the fluffiness of it.

But as we drew nearer to our destination I began to become increasingly worried. Not about me or what danger I would ultimately fall into, but about Bruce. I knew what happened in Africa, what Wanda would make him do. The question was whether or not I should do something about of course. The ultimate answer was no, I probably won't be able to do a damn thing about it, for two reasons. One I wouldn't actually _physically_ be able to stop Wanda from doing the deed, and the other was for character development. That last reason made me sound like I was superior to the Avengers because they were fictional, but that wasn't how I felt at all! Let me clarify.

Besides Natasha forcing Bruce to Hulk out (ugh, my heart), the destruction of the African city via the Hulk is what actually makes Bruce leave at the end of the film (again, my poor _heart_ ). It's not like I was going to be able to stop Wanda from mind-raping (or that was at least what Lana and I described it as) the rest of the Avengers on Klaue's ship; who was I to get in the way so something that made the Avengers grow as heroes and as people? But just because letting the universe do its thing didn't mean it was going to hurt them, or me, any less.

"We're here people, prepare for landing," Clint announced and we all went to brace ourselves as the jet descended. When it hit the ground everyone sprung into action, like clockwork, gearing up for the fight ahead. I kept to myself, as far away as I could get, I didn't want to disrupt the interacted ballet the Avengers seemed to do as they moved about the jet. I didn't have much to prepare anyway, I had most of what I needed.

When everyone was done Steve handed me a circular communication device, which I quickly shoved in my right ear.

"Scans show Ultron is inside the biggest ship out on the yard," Steve explained, his shield glinting ominously in the low light. "We'll be in there in a few minutes, and you'll be here with Bruce?"

"For the most part, yes." I agreed. "At some point in this fight the twins are going to make it outside, I'll take it from there."

"Anything we should know?" Tony asked, hoping for a spoiler alert.

I shook my head at the older man. "Just be careful," I tilted my head towards Hawkeye who was finishing packing his arrows. " _Especially_ you."

"Yes, Ma'am." Clint said with a mock salute, though I knew he took my warning seriously. We didn't need him to get mind-raped too, so the extra precaution couldn't hurt. Unless I jinxed him, then that would be a disaster.

"Steve, at this point I think you should all forget that I know anything about what is going to happen. It would be easier." I suggested. "Just think I'm completely clueless."

"That won't be hard." I heard Clint say and I could hear the smirk in his voice.

I turned and shot the archer a dirty look. "That was _cheap_ Barton."

"You walked right into it, Kate." Clint shot back and I rolled my eyes with a huff, though I wasn't actually that mad.

"There are bigger things to worry about." I continued when I turned back to Steve. "I know it's going to be hard, but you're going to have to trust me—and when I say trust me, I mean not care about what happens to me."

"Too late for that." I could hear Bruce say behind me and Steve placed a gloved hand on my shoulder.

"We don't plan on babysitting you, but just be careful," Steve instructed, and I silently agreed. "Let's head out."

The ramp of jet lowered and warm African air flooded in and hit me like a tsunami wave. Soon everyone who was needed left and the jet door closed, leaving Bruce and me in the dark. The whole time that I watched them go, I was repeatedly apologising in my mind. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_.' The guilt welled up like a ton of bricks in my stomach. I didn't want what was going to happen to happen to them, but I had no choice. They were still people, and people needed to develop. Plus I didn't need to make the universe mad, I probably pissed it off enough with my 'Recruit the Twins' plan.

"Something's going to happen to them, isn't there?" Bruce said. "You look like you were sending them to their deaths."

I swallowed thickly and shook my head. "No one's going to die." I _hoped._ I couldn't speak for anyone that would eventually get caught in the middle of the Hulk and the Hulkbuster in that city. I smiled at Bruce, even though it was a sad smile. "Everyone's coming back from this."

Yeah, everyone was going to come back broken. I just prayed they wouldn't hate me after this ended.

* * *

"What's going on in there?" Bruce asked for the millionth time as he paced around the jet. It had been a while since the team had gone in to try and take down Ultron and Bruce was getting antsy. So were I, but I hid it well.

"Bruce, they'll be fine," I said. Of course they would be, _after_ we got out of Africa. Currently? Wanda should have gotten to them by now.

"Then why haven't they called in?" Bruce reasoned worriedly. He went over to one of the Quinjet's communication panels and held down a button. "Guys, is this a code green?" There was just the sound of static over the line but I knew no one would respond. His worry only grew, but this was the cue I'd been waiting for.

The Doctor hit the switch to open the jet door, and I prepped myself to leave by tightening my hip bag and removing the comm. from my ear.

He looked out and observed the muddy yard. He didn't even notice me until I walked right past him and out of the jet. He caught my shoulder. "What are you—"

"I'm going to meet the twins." I told him and his eyes widened in understanding.

"Then this is dangerous; you know what they are capable of." Bruce rubbed his forehead. "Maybe—"

"No!" I stopped him right there. "You're not coming with me, are you crazy?"

"You're right." He sighed and I touched his arm lightly.

"I'll be fine Bruce. Don't worry." I didn't actually know whether or not I'd be ok, but if there was one thing I was good at besides art and fangirling? It was being able to reassure and comfort people. I took pride in that. "But I think it'd be safer if you stayed inside the jet. _You_ know what the twins are capable off." I reminded, and after I minute of silence, Bruce reluctantly agreed.

I stepped off the aircraft and let the door shut, smiling at the older man until the door separated us. As soon as were out of each other's sight I frowned and place my hands on the ship door. I could feel Bruce's worry through the door, and I could almost hear his footsteps as he began to pace again. Oh, look! More guilt! I knew I couldn't stop Wanda from brain-blasting the crap out of Bruce, the least I could do was make it harder for her to do so.

I went around and stood by the Quinjet's flank and watched the horizon. The air was grossly humid; both sticky and achingly dry at the same time. It was unpleasant, but familiar as well. It felt like the summer air of my little rural town where I used to live when I was young, hot and unforgiving. This offered me no comfort, instead, it just reminded me of my dead mother and the father I had been separated from; the family I'd lost.

Just as I was losing myself in my memory, my eyes spotted some movement in the distance.

It was the twins, and they were coming right for the jet.

Pietro sped forward with his sister in his arms, and I tried not to be overwhelmed by seeing their superpowers being used in reality for the first time. The twins stopped a meter or two away from the jet and examined it. They were probably thinking about the best way to break down the door to get to Bruce inside. In that moment, I got my first good look at them. The twins both felt younger here, closer to my age. They were still gorgeous of course, though they both looked like they hadn't gotten any sleep for the last two years.

All fangirl thoughts aside, I was surprised they hadn't spotted me yet. It didn't matter, because Wanda raised her hands and began to charge her powers to break the jet door down, while Bruce sat helplessly inside, oblivious to what was happening.

With the wave of my hand, I managed to make a portal big enough to swallow them both. I would've laughed at their shocked faces as they disappeared into the white glow, but as soon as they did I felt an invisible weight being placed upon my shoulders. I'd never had more than myself go through a portal, and a tugging in my gut told me that as soon as I closed this portal I wouldn't be able to hold onto the twins for very long.

So I closed the portal and ran as fast as I could away from the jet. The tugging sensation in my gut grew stronger and it was the first time I actually struggled _not_ opening a portal. I kept running till the tugging feeling was almost painful and opened an exit portal high enough to leave the Sokovians a little winded when they hit the ground.

"Didn't see that coming, mate?" I couldn't help but say to myself, but apparently the twins had heard me because they quickly snapped out of their post being-dropped-from-three-meters-high daze and stared at me.

Besides the bubbling rage that filled their eyes, there was something else that surprised me—

Why did they look like they recognised me?

" _You_ ," Pietro spoke as he and Wanda slowly rose from the ground, much like two lions that just noticed some vulnerable prey wandering across the plains. Wow, a lion simile in Africa? I just landed on a new level of cheesy.

"Uh, yeah, me." I responded with my arms up in surrender. I did want to _talk_ them, after all. "Mella Kate," I introduced while I tried not to step away when the siblings took a few unnerving steps towards me. "But for some reason, I think you already knew that. Why?"

"Ultron was right," Wanda began with an intimidating smirk that spread across her lips. "You were dumb enough to come with them."

"I don't think I'm catching your drift." I spoke and lowered my arms, preparing myself for anything the twins might pull before I asked, "What does Ultron have to do with me?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Pietro said with mock-innocence, and I tried not to shudder at his sexy accent. "Ultron thought you might've figured it out by now, but you must be more stupid than he thought."

My face hardened at the older boy's harsh words, but after a minute, my mind directed me back to a memory. Back in the med bay when I was attacked by the Legionnaire, but it wasn't trying to kill me—it tried to take me! I remembered what happened, but that still hadn't answered my question.

"Do you mind being straight with me? Ultron knows me; what does that mean? I'd like an answer, or I swear," I pointed towards the sky. "The next place I drop you from will be a lot higher." Oh my God, I just threatened them! Lana would be so proud of me right now!

"It means," Wanda continued to smile threateningly and her hands tensed up, ready to strike me down, and Pietro bent his knees, ready to run. "You're coming with us."

I had little time to react as Pietro sped forward and carried me away towards the salvage yard before he slammed me against the body of a cargo ship, both my arms crossed and held behind my back tightly. I groaned at the ache that spread through the front of my torso and cheek from being smashed into the metal hull of the ship until I was ripped away and made to face Wanda when Pietro knew he had a good grip on my arms.

"Not so tough, huh?" Wanda taunted.

"I was never tough. If you noticed I actually wanted to speak with you before throwing out any threats." I said and winced as Pietro tightened his grip on my arms near my wrists for addressing his sister in such a way.

"You're right, not tough at all." Wanda teased and looked to her brother. "Take her back to where we landed, I'll finish the job."

I looked nervously at the Quinjet. "Do you mean setting the Hulk loose?"

Wanda looked at me in surprise. "How do you know—"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked while ignored her previous question. "You do realise that if you let the Hulk loose he's going to rip apart the city that's not far from here. People, _innocent_ people, will get hurt."

"Sometimes when righting a wrong, sacrifices are made." Wanda replied and I wished my hands weren't being held behind my back so I could pick my jaw up off the ground, and then used them to strangle the girl in front of me. These two—they couldn't possibly believe that! Calm yourself, Mella, they're not in a stable state of mind.

"'Righting a wrong'? Is that what you're calling revenge now?" I said in disbelief. "And you'd think with you two coming from a place like _Sokovia_ ; you wouldn't condemn people to suffer as a consequence of selfish reasons and actions."

The twins didn't take being called a pair of hypocrites very well if the grip that tightened on my arms had anything to do with that. I was going to bruise for sure. "Don't you _dare_ speak of suffering! Or of our suffering!" Wanda growled. "You know nothing of it! How could you, when you ally yourself with the man—"

"—With the man that helped kill your parents and torment your country." Mella finished solemnly. "Tony wasn't the one who bombed your home! He doesn't even deal in weapons anymore! This constant thirst for revenge isn't going to help anyone."

"It will help _us_." Pietro snapped and pulled me back hard into his chest, his blazing blue eyes glaring at me from above. He was head taller than me, so I stared up at him. All my anger left me because not only was there the rage in his eyes, but being close to him like this meant I could see his pain. I could feel it too. There was so much of it. I grew to realise that this was an argument I was never going to win without showing Wanda what was in my mind or taking them back to Clint's place to show them what they would tear apart with their actions.

So I lowered my voice and spoke, my eyes still boring into Pietro's. "But don't you see? It won't. It's not going to make you feel any better, it's _pointless_."

That was the last straw for Wanda. "Our mission is not _pointless_." She seethed. "Iron Man and the Avengers are cancer disguised in shiny armor, but like all cancer, it needs to be. _Cut. Out_." The Sokovian girl gestured to the jet in the distance. "Every last bit needs to be destroyed, ending with your precious doctor."

"Wanda, _please_." I tried one last time.

"It's just too bad," Wanda said in a teasing tone while she ignored my pleas. "That you won't get to see him fall apart."

With that, Wanda raised her hand to my face and with a roll of her fingers I was blasted with a strange red energy, and I fell into my own mind.

* * *

 ** _"What?" I said confused. I blinked a few times and my eyes adjusted to the sudden change in lighting. I was traveling in the backseat of a car, behind the front passenger seat. It must have been late because it was pitch black outside, and the cold and bright street lamps flashed by every second. However, there was nothing else outside, just an unending string of road that went on and on. How odd._**

 ** _"Can we have McDonald's Mama? Pleeeeease?" A child's voice said. I turned my head to see strapped into the middle seat was a child's car seat. In the said seat was a chubby little girl of no older than four, with pale skin and dark hair pulled into two cute ponytails._**

 ** _I nearly jumped out of my skin. The little girl was me._**

 ** _And this car ride was getting frighteningly familiar._**

 ** _"We just ate, Anak." I heard a women's voice sigh. My throat dried at the sound of the familiar accent as she called that name. Anak—in this context meant 'my child' in Tagalog. My eyes were definitely watering. I hadn't heard that voice in so long, I had almost forgotten what it sounded like completely._**

 ** _"Please-please-please?" Little me whined while her little legs kicked up and down._**

 ** _"Mamaya, ok? Siguro sa Biyernes, McDonald's tayo." 'Later, ok? Maybe on Friday we'll all go to McDonald's.' She said. It had been so long since someone spoke so casually in both English and Filipino to me, well technically it was to little me, but still. "We have to get home, Daddy's waiting for us." The driver turned to face the back seat for a split second to look at little me before turning back to the road, but that was all I needed._**

 ** _Mum._**

 ** _I had memorised her every feature from old photographs Dad had. Her round face, thick and dark hair, maple-brown skin, the little mole on the chin that was the same size as the one I had on my right cheek near my nose, and deep brown eyes that almost looked black in the low lighting. She was twenty-six at the time. She was so young._**

 ** _And I knew what was coming. "Mum! You need to stop the car!" I warned but she didn't turn. Neither little me or my mother even noticed I was present, and to my horror the acceleration of the car increased with every word I spoke._**

 ** _I knew it was futile to stop anything, but I kept on trying. "Mum! Please stop! You're going to get hit!" No response and the car sped up again. I moved and leaned between the two front seats and grabbed ahold of the wheel. I tried to give it a sharp turn in an attempt to make the car swerve and hopefully stop, but it wouldn't budge, and my mother wouldn't budge either._**

 ** _This couldn't be happening, not again. I began to panic, though, as the car sped towards an intersection in the distance. The intersection, where my mother had died in the accident. I remember the place just fine because I made sure every year to bring flowers back there in memory of her. "Mum! Please stop!" I begged. I could see a car speeding in from the left side towards the intersection, and just as it was before, Mum didn't notice the car._**

 ** _We were getting closer, literally seconds away, and I was desperate. This couldn't happen. I couldn't relive this, not again._**

 ** _"Mama! Stop!"_**

 ** _But it was too late. We reached the intersection, and so did the other car._**

 ** _"Anak hold ON!" My mother screamed and tried to turn out of the way of the oncoming vehicle, which forced me to fall back into my seat. I was just as helpless as I was that night, and I could do nothing more then clench my eyes shut and wrap an arm protectively around little me while she screamed in terror. I heard the bang of car-hitting-car but felt none of the impact. In fact, I didn't even feel the seat beneath me anymore, and there it was._**

 ** _The silence._**

 ** _"M-mama?"_**

 ** _I wasn't the one who spoke. I opened my eyes to see I was outside the car, observing the wreckage. It was just as before. The car that hit us was a few meters away, and from the skid marks on the road, I could tell it spun a few times before it stopped in a peculiar angle on the never ending road. Our car was worse._**

 ** _I cringed at the sight of it. Our car had been hit in the side, which pushed it hard enough to wrap around a giant tree at the corner of the intersection, and the driver's side completely crushed._**

 ** _"Oh God." I whimpered and made my way to the car slowly. I didn't know what else to do. I could hear little me calling for Mum. I knew little me was alright, not being very hurt in any way in the accident was a miracle, but Mum . . . The closer I got the car, the weaker I seemed to become. How long did I call out for her before four-year-old me realised she was . . gone? Oh no, was I going to throw up? I'm pretty sure I was going to throw up._**

 ** _I made it to the car but collapsed onto my knees. I was crying now, but it didn't matter. I could see my mother, my beautiful mother, with her head harshly snapped the other way, no visible movement in her chest. There was blood, so much blood, pouring over her chest from her head . . . that had been put halfway through the car window. Oh, Mum. My head rested against the car door as I sobbed, and little me began to wail with me. Why was the world so cruel? She was so young, I was so young, and me and Dad were alone. I couldn't stop myself crying, my emotions were so out of control I was almost screaming. Why? Why? Why?_**

 ** _"I'm sorry, sweetheart." A voice spoke weakly, but strong enough that I could hear it over my cries._**

 ** _"I didn't mean to leave you alone." I took a shaky breath and tried to understand. Dad? I looked around but I didn't see my father anywhere._**

 ** _"I just couldn't live without your mother." He spoke again, his voice above me. I pinpointed the source of the voice and I looked up. I fell back from shock, and my heart almost stopped beating in my chest._**

 ** _Above the car was my father. No, he wasn't on top of the car, but hanging above it. There was a . . . There was a rope . . . A rope that was tied to one of the branches and-and . . . Ended in a noose . . . A noose around my father's neck._**

 ** _My father was dressed in a suit as if he was waiting to be buried. His skin had lost its Austrailian tan, his head hung forward in and his body swayed in the most morbid way, but from my level on the ground, I could see his sunken eyes. They were both still open but had lost their colour as well. How can a pair of eyes be so lifeless, but still managed to stab into my soul?_**

 ** _"I'm sorry honey . . . Daddy's sorry . . ." My father's mouth didn't move, and the voice reverberated all around me._**

 ** _"Dad?" I whimpered. The world took my mother, it couldn't take him too. Not him. This wasn't what happened. It wasn't supposed to be like this! I crawled to the car again but no longer had any strength in my body to even get to my feet, so I settled for my knees. I tried to reach for him, even though I knew I couldn't get to him._**

 ** _"Daddy . . . ?" I cried, but as the words left my mouth, the world around me grew dark. Everything lost its colour, and there is was again. The silence. But this wasn't the same. Little me had ceased crying, there was no ambience of other traffic on other roads, or the sound of the wind and the hum of the street lamps were absent. The silence._**

 ** _I couldn't stand it._**

 ** _I began to shake as the silence stretched on, my father's body still hung limply above me. Why was this happening? I can't remember the last time I had a nightmare but this was . . . this was scarring._**

 ** _In the blink of an eye, I was off the road and in a church. I walked forward, past the church pews and faceless mourners dressed in black._**

 ** _"Sorry for your loss . . . my condolences . . . so sorry . . ." The voices swirled around me until they melted together into a dull roar. There was no more silence, but this wasn't what I wanted to hear._**

 ** _At the altar were two coffins, and it was a cruel open casket funeral. My mother laid in the coffin to the right, my father in the one of the left. The churches stain glass windows shone a bright red light down on their pale bodies. Little me stood in black frilly dress as she faced our dead parents. Her shoulders shook, but I didn't hear her crying._**

 ** _"Mama . . . Daddy." I whispered and walked up the steps towards little me._**

 ** _She whipped her head around; her curly pigtails swung rapidly and her chubby cheeks were red and tear-stained. She pointed an accusatory finger at me._**

 ** _"You did this." She said bitterly and the words seemed so out of place as they poured from her little four-year-old mouth._**

 ** _"No I . . . I didn't." I spoke weakly. I didn't kill my family!_**

 ** _Little me laughed wryly and shook her head. "Not them." She pointed her little finger to the area behind me. "Them."_**

 ** _I turned and the dull roar of the funeral goers disappeared, but so did they, as well as the church seats. In the big empty space were filled eight black coffins laid atop tables of white marble, and with a click, all their lids flew open._**

 ** _I heard shriek leave my mouth as the coffins revealed the bodies of the Avengers and the Maximoff twins._**

 ** _"You didn't help anything, you only made it worse!" Little me cried out. "It's all your FAULT!"_**

 ** _"I-I . . ." I tried to get some words out, but I could barely breathe. "I only . . . wanted to help save someone . . ."_**

 ** _"Is that what you were trying to do?" A voice said. It was Pietro. He and his sister stood in front of me, both pale as sheets and with trails of blood leading from their coffins to where they stood. Pietro had all his bullet wounds from the end on the film, and Wanda had the same wounds in all the same places in her body as her brother._**

 ** _"You didn't save us," Pietro said sadly while his hand reached out to hold his sister's._**

 ** _Wanda leaned in and touched my cheek gently, her own blood smeared across my skin as she did so. She was trembling, or maybe that was me? Her eyes were blank, I couldn't tell what she was feeling, but then for some reason, she gave me a wide smile before she spoke._**

 ** _"You killed us."_**

* * *

THUD!

I took a gasping breath as I hit a solid surface. I was so disoriented I didn't know where I was for a minute or two until my eyes focused. It was incredibly bright again and I knew I was still in Africa, and I understood I didn't only hit the ground but I was thrown to it. There was a gust of wind and I looked up to see I was surrounded by four Legionnaires, all with their write repulsers locked and ready to fire and the twins were nowhere in sight. I was so messed up in the head at that moment I thought I was in a dream again.

I struggled to get off the ground, but my wrists were bound behind my back. Who . . . oh, right, it was Pietro. Not only did that make it difficult for me to get up, but it stopped me from using my powers as I used my arms and hands to focus them.

"And we finally meet."

I froze. That was James Spader alright. I tilted my head up and came face to face with a fifth Legionnaire whose eyes glowed red. I couldn't hold myself together so I wasn't surprised when tears began to pour down my cheeks due to fear overload. This might not have been the proper Ultron, but with his voice came his presence and the atmosphere he created was both captivating and suffocating for me.

"Now I don't say this to just anybody, but I was a little impressed when you managed to evade my guy who went to snatch you for me." The bot spoke and I tried not to vomit all over myself. "Though I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

"She didn't even know you wanted her." I heard Pietro say as he and his approached. Oh, Pietro went to fetch his sister, and the mighty need vomit hit me again as the sight of the smug bitch. Only at the moment, she didn't look smug. She looked confused actually, why was that?

"Let's not hold it against her," Ultron said with mock politeness.

"W-what do you want with me?" I cursed myself for not being to stop my voice from wavering.

"Well, let's not keep the suspense going." Ultron chuckled, which sounded like a deep laugh on auto-tune. Ultron kneeled in front of me and grabbed my face in his sun-heated metal hand, hauling me up from the ground until I was on my knees. "Now now, no need to be shy."

"Answer my question and maybe I won't be." We both knew that was a lie, but like I said before about confidence-fake it 'til you make it.

"Let me answer your question with another question." Ultron started and let go of my jaw. "Do you honestly believe you're fighting for the right side?"

"Yes." I said, no hesitation this time and I heard Pietro scoff.

"Hmm, because I had a proposal for you." The A.I. offered. "I had thought up this proposal when I was getting rid of your dear friend Jarvis." More tears filled my eyes, but I didn't dare say anything. "And as I was doing so I came across some of the most interesting data; footage of a mysterious girl flying through a portal and simple DVD came through with her."

My body stiffened. Oh _shit_ , the DVD! "You didn't see the—"

"No, I didn't." Ultron denied. Oh, thank God! He hadn't gotten his filthy robotic hands on the DVD. "But I caught a glimpse before the data that that obsolete system had managed to pull together was deleted." Jarvis had been analysing the disk but managed to delete what he had before Ultron got to it—while he was under fire? Jarvis will never cease to amaze.

"And what's your conjecture then?" I asked and if his face could move now like his preferred body could, Ultron would've definitely been smirking.

He turned and addressed the twins. "Mella here is from a different dimension." He didn't need any confirmation from me; my silence was his answer. Twins looked surprised, which meant they hadn't known why Ultron wanted me either. Those wankers! The twins had been as clueless as I had been! Also, talk about a window of opportunity!

All I had to do was get Wanda to read my mind, and I'm sure Ultron would let her without thinking of the negative consequences of doing so. Why? Because Ultron cared for the twins. Wanda more than Pietro, and he actually had this delusion that they would stick around when they finally found out what he was really planning. Boy, was he in for a rude awakening.

"She comes from a place where we all exist in a fictional reality. Because of this, Mella has all the knowledge we need to defeat the Avengers." Ultron announced and the twins looked at me in wonder, though that didn't last long. "So I'm offering you a place among our ranks." The AI propositioned. He wanted me to join them, even though he knew that _I_ knew what his plans were? I wanted to laugh.

I kept my composure. "What makes you think I would join you? "

"Simple." Ultron raised his arm and the repulsor in the robot's wrist glowed brightly. "Help us and your death will be quicker, and much less painful." I swallowed nervously but on the inside, I was smirking. Ultron had no other leverage over me other than my life, so what was the point if I knew that he would kill me either way I chose?

"And if I were to refuse now?" _'Let Wanda read my mind. Let Wanda read my mind.'_ I chanted internally. Ultron didn't say anything. Instead, two of the Legionnaires shot forward and flanked me. Both gripped a shoulder and forced me to straighten my back.

"We'll just have to do things the hard way. Cliché, I know." Ultron gestured for Wanda to approach. The older girl joined at Ultron's side but looked unsure of what to do. "This is your last chance, join us, or Wanda will simply take what we need."

"Are you willing to risk it, though?" I questioned, subtly taunting the AI. "Like Uncle Rick once wrote—'Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing.'" I quoted Rick Riordan.

Ultron took that as my final answer and stepped away from me to let Wanda do her thing. She stared at me apprehensively, probably wondering why I wasn't as scared as I was and as I should be. She shared a look with Pietro before she asked Ultron, "What exactly am I looking for?"

"Trust me hon," I spoke for Ultron. "You'll know it when you see it."

I might've come across too blasé for Wanda, and a mean look crossed her pretty face before she launched herself into my mind. Now at first it felt like my brain was a bowl of strawberry jelly, which Wanda had violently punched her way into, but after a moment of fighting on my part, I relaxed. I could feel Wanda's mind in mine, searching for what she needed, so I opened my mind to help.

There were things that she just saw that had no real purpose. There was a younger Lana and I fussing over Marvel characters, me as I painted a portrait of Brendon Urie and my father and I having dinner together. The memories of my father led her to the accident that landed me in the MCU, which put a focus on the DVD I had pulled in with me and must have been what had influenced the original portal. Suddenly scenes from the film flashed through my mind, ultimately ending with the destruction and battle of Sokovia and worse.

Pietro's death.

I knew that would hurt her because as soon as the memory flashed across my mind Wanda screamed and ripped herself away. Pietro was at her side in no time as she clutched her head in hands, and I shook mine to rid myself of the disorientation the Sokovian had caused.

"What's wrong?" The blond asked again and again. The way he fretted over his sister made my heart melt, and I let out a little 'aww' despite serious nature of my current predicament. I really did manage to fangirl everywhere I went.

The Sokovian girl pushed her and her brother way from Ultron, the look on her face displayed how utterly betrayed she was. "You said we would make a better world." She whimpered, and the A.I. sounded confused when he responded.

"We _are_ , and it will be."

"By destroying the earth? By killing . . ." Wanda queried and latched onto her brother, clearly rattled by what she saw I my mind. Anyone would be. "You're a _madman_!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you." I said and grabbed Ultron's attention. I tilted my head to the twins and glowered at the robot. "They will _never_ see things the way you do."

Ultron didn't wait a second longer to shoot me, so I clenched my eyes shut and waited for the end, but it never came. Just in the nick of time Pietro swept me away while Wanda took care the two bots that previously held me down. With a quick swipe, the bands around wrists were gone and my feet hit the ground. There was a silent agreement made between the blond and me, and we ran off to help Wanda who managed to stun one of the bots but was having a hard time with another two.

The other two centuries were headed to a massive cargo jet in the distance (how did I miss that?). That was probably how Ultron was going to transport the vibranium, and it was about to take off. There would be no time to stop it so helping Wanda was my top priority.

With my now free hands, I opened a portal in front of a bot that was shooting at Wanda and used a cleverly placed exit portal to reroute the shots right into its back. Pietro managed to knock his one down and Wanda completely shattered the stunned Legionnaire that was attempting to get back up. The sentries were defeated, but the cargo jet was airborne and flew into the horizon.

"That went well." I muttered sarcastically while I tried to catch my breath. Nope, it wasn't over yet, because the universe had decided to pull a fast one on me and I bent over to throw up. There go the granola bars.

"Are you alright?" Wanda asked awkwardly when I finished embarrassing myself.

"Yeah . . . that was just . . . a late reaction . . . to what you did to me . . . back there." I coughed and my throat burned from all the stomach acid that it was hit with, my mind clouding over with he nightmarish visions Wanda had placed in my head.

Wanda came and pulled me away from the puddle of barf by the shoulders and grasped one of my hands in hers. "I'm so _sorry_."

She looked so sincere. Gone was the smugness, replaced with the most lost expression I'd ever seen. I squeezed her hand back. "It's . . . fine. Forgive and forget, right?" Wanda so relieved I thought she might cry, which would be bad because then I'd start to cry, and at this point I was really sick of my own tears.

Pietro, on the other hand, was puzzled by our interaction. His confusion had finally caught up with him. "What the hell is happening right now?" He asked as he looked back and forth between his sister and me.

"To quote your sister—you're coming with us." I replied. "This was my mission, I was supposed to recruit you."

"Wait a minute—"

"Don't tell me you don't plan on coming?" I interrupted exasperatedly. "Ultron betrayed you and, if you haven't noticed, is long gone."

"We have to brother." Wanda agreed. "After what I saw . . . we need to help them stop him. It's the right to do."

A very disgruntled Pietro became even more disgruntled. "What did you see?"

Wanda and I shared a look, and we didn't need a telepathic conversation to agree that we did _not_ want to discuss the dark events seen in my mind. I cleared my throat. "There'll time to talk about this later, we need to get back the Quinjet."

"And you're not worried about what Avengers might do to us after what we did to them?" Pietro questioned his sister hotly. "I don't want to put your life at risk!"

I tugged on the blonde's sleeve to remind him I was still there. "They won't hurt her, Pietro. I won't let them." He glanced at me with distrust in his eyes but gave up his fight after he received a glare from his twin. I understood his worry, though, Wanda was all he had, and he would never forgive himself if he let something happened to her. I would take care of them because the last thing _I_ wanted was for the twins to get hurt right after they managed to see their mistake. Well, when at least one of them so their mistake.

I searched my pockets for my comm. and placed into my ear. Time to face the music, so to speak. "Uh, is anyone on the line?"

" _Kate!_ " I heard Hawkeye yell over the comm. " _We couldn't get to you, kid. Where the hell are you?_ "

"Somewhere? I know I'm not anywhere close to the jet." I did a quick three-sixty and tried to find the Quinjet before Wanda pointed me in the right direction. The jet was just a tiny speck in the distance from where we were. "But I'm with the twins."

" _The Maximoffs?_ " Clint replied dubiously before his tone turned grave. " _Are you hurt?_ "

"No! No, I'm fine. So are the twins. We're all together now, I fill you in when we get back." I answered quickly and changed the subject. "I'm sorry Clint, Ultron got away with the vibranium."

" _I know, kid. Just glad none of us kicked the bucket_."

"Where are you guys?"

" _Stark's just apprehended Banner, I'm assuming you know he attacked the city,_ " Clint informed and I let out a frustrated sigh through my nose. " _The rest of us are still on the cargo ship, some us were hit by Wanda Maximoff's powers. They're finally coming to, but . . . that Maximoff chick packs a pretty mean punch._ "

"I know."

" _Did she . . .?_ "

Use her powers on me? I finished his question in my mind before replying. "It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we regroup at the jet and get the hell out of here."

" _Copy that. Do you need us to pick you up?_ "

"No, we have time."

" _Right._ "

The comm. remained in my ear and I slipped off my jacket, the African heat had finally gotten to me. "I'm guessing you're not carrying us back." I joked and Pietro sent me another glare, though it came across as annoyed rather than angry this time.

"And I guessing you're not teleporting s back either?" Came his snarky comeback and I snorted.

"God no. I'm so tired it feels like I'm going to collapse any second," I joked dryly and gestured to Wanda, who had let go of my hand and now was leant heavily against her brother. "And so does she."

"What are we waiting for?" Pietro wrapped an arm around Wanda's shoulders and we made our way to Quinjet. We settled into a stiff silence as we walked, and I took notice of how many times the older Maximoff stole glances at me. Not in a romantic way (I wish) but in a way that let me know he had so many questions, much like Steve did. What did his sister see in my head? Why was I being so kind after everything they'd done? Who the hell was I and where do I come from? So I met his stare with a reassuring glance, which I hoped would let him know I would tell him everything he needed to know in time. The blonde just looked away, ashamed that I caught him. It was so cute.

Boy was it going to be hard for Wanda and I to tell him the truth.

. . . _If_ we told him the truth.


	5. Chapter 5: Secret

**AN: OMG It's been such a long time! Sorry for the wait I've just been so busy lately but I put in a little more time and effort to bring you this! And because you guys had to wait such a long time for this, I hope you enjoy the fact that it's almost 10K words long (also because it might be a while before you get the chapter after this, sorry).**

 **Also I SAW CIVIL WAR AND HOLY FUCK THERE WERE GOOD BITS AND BAD BITS BUT IT WAS AN OVERALL ABSOLUTE FEELS TRIP AND I DIDN'T EVEN PICK A SIDE, EVEN BY THE END OF THE MOVIE! I JUST WATCHED IT AND WENT 'BOTH SIDES KIND OF SUCK', BUT IT WAS STILL SO GOOD THOUGH! I MEAN, THAT ENDING THOUGH! ASDFGHJKL IDK...**

HuntedCinders: **Thanks for reviewing sweetie! As for your question, t** **here will be a continuation of this fic that will flow into CW, but that won't be for a while.**

lizziecats: **OMG such an awesome review! It just kept going and going! I appreciate all of your feedback and I really hope to get another review from you!**

 **So now what your all waiting for, and I hope there are some Quicksilver fans out there because there is so much Pietro Maximoff in this chapter!**

 **Pls R &R!**

* * *

 _"The universe doesn't give you what you ask for with your thoughts - it gives you what you demand with your actions."_

 _― Steve Maraboli_

* * *

I had thought earlier that Wanda had given me the most lost and broken look I had ever seen in my life after she apologised for brain-blasting the crap out of me—I was dead wrong.

When the twins and I finally arrived back at the Quinjet, the Avengers were making their way back as well and we met at the jet around the same time. In the film, everyone had first seen the effects of Wanda's powers on the team in the Quinjet when they were on their way to Clint's place. That had been hours after they left Africa, but what was in front of me now was the initial reaction, and it beat Wanda's sad eyes by a few hundred kilometres.

Natasha was being guided by Clint back to the jet. She leant against him with an arm around his shoulders and his around her waist. Her body was stiff and her face blank as she tried to remain strong, but her eyes gave her away. I had never seen them look so frantic. Bruce was the complete opposite. His on the ground and up against the jet with Tony by his side, his arms wound tightly around himself as in curled himself in as far as he could go, as if he was trying to make himself disappear. I had to restrain myself from running and hugging the life out of him.

Steve just looked _sad_. His arms were folded, his back was turned away from the rest of the group and his blue eyes were a storm. Thor was in a similar stance though he was emotionless. Completely indifferent. It looked like the vision he saw in his mind had sunk in and now he was trying to process it all.

Indifferent; was that how I looked?

We were only a few feet away from them now, and I moved in front of Wanda and shielded her as best I could with my body. Everyone's emotions were running high, and after what Wanda did to them, I wouldn't have been surprised if someone went for her throat the moment they saw an opening. Pietro followed suit and held his sister closer than he did before.

The Avengers had already noticed us all and no one said a thing. I cleared my throat and turned my head to gesture to the twins.

"Um, mission accomplished?"

 _Wrong_ thing to say.

"Nope. Nope! Just no." Tony spoke and stormed forward, palm-repulsor raised and charged to fire. I pulled away from the twins and went straight up to Iron Man's raised hand and stood in a position where my face was placed directly in front of it, but he didn't lower his weapon. "Stand down Kate." He commanded, his eyes still trained on the twins.

He wasn't wearing his helmet so I could look him right in the face as I stayed right where I was. "How about 'no'?" I replied as calmly as I could, but I could feel some anger build up in me when Tony didn't move his arm.

"We're not doing this, Kate. Not after what they did." Tony growled at me.

"I know that Tony, trust me, I know." I wondered whether it was the look in my eye or the tremble in my shoulders that told Tony that I knew exactly what the twins did to them, to me. The older man begrudgingly lowered his arm, but the tone of his voice didn't change.

"Then you know what she—" Tony glared heatedly at Wanda. "—Did to Banner, and you show up here holding her hand, expecting us all to sing Kumbaya and let her and Sonic the Hedgehog get away with it?"

"Of course not!" I felt the childish need to stomp my foot to emphasise my point, but I suppressed it. "What Wanda did to Bruce and the rest of us falls onto the top level of the most fucked up things you could do to a person. I'm screaming inside, but I know now is not the time to be angry, and now that you're looking at her? Tell me Wanda hasn't learned her lesson."

I could feel the twin's gazes fixed on the back of my head, and I swore I could feel Wanda's presence in my mind, though it was warmer than before. I thought she was trying to comfort me, in exchange for defending her. Which wasn't a big deal, Wanda knew she screwed up and Pietro was on his way to understanding, so all there was left to do was join the Avengers. Wanda was scared, for her brother, for her home, and helping the Avengers was definitely at the top of her to-do list. I would make sure that the twins could do that.

"I said I would get the twins and I did," I shrunk back a little and tried not to look at Bruce. "I might've done it a later than what would've been preferred, but they're here to help now. Bottom line is the twins are done with Ultron, but if they don't come with us . . ."

I turned back and went to stand beside Wanda, who let me hold her hand in mine.

"Then I'm not going anywhere either."

" _No!_ "

It was Bruce. His whole body had come alive at the notion that I would be left behind, which honestly made me want to cry at the idea of hime caring so much. His big brown eyes met mine and I wanted to do nothing more than rush over and comfort him, but I stood my ground next to the twins. Wanda must have read my thoughts (if she actually did, she really needed to stop) because she let go of my hand and gave me an encouraging nudge forward. I got the message and practically sprinted to Bruce's side, though when I got there I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to hug him, but I think it might have been better just to stay close but at the same time, give him some space. So I settle for kneeling in the dirt beside him.

"Are you alright?" I asked quietly.

"Better now," Bruce said weakly before his faced turned dark. "Now that you're away from them." I winced at the low tone of his voice and I could see him glare at Wanda.

"Bruce, please stay calm," I spoke, and took a risk and placed a hand on his shoulder gently. We didn't need him to Hulk out again.

"Oh, I'm way past 'angry'." Bruce continued to glare at Wanda. "I could choke the life out of her and not even change a shade." I shivered. Sometimes, honest to God, Bruce was scarier when he was human than he was when he was the Hulk.

Cap snapped himself out of his sad daze and made his way to the front of the pack, right in front of the twins. "You know, if you join us, what we say goes."

"We know," Wanda replied shakily.

"And if you betray us—"

Pietro cut in, obviously not enjoying the way Steve was speaking to them. Now that I thought about it, he probably just didn't like Steve in general. "We won't."

"They won't Cap," I assured Steve, but Tony didn't agree (surprise-surprise).

He threw the Captain an exasperated look. "Cap—you can't be serious."

"Mella held up her end of the deal, the twins are here, they're willing to cooperate, they're coming," Steve said. There was an acute sense of finality in his voice, so there were not further arguments, even though Tony looked like he was about to explode.

"Well, I ain't sitting next them," Clint said and tried to lighten the mood. His attempt failed miserably.

Cap looked to the twins and I believed he took the archer's word's a little more seriously than intended. He turned his head back to the jet and spoke.

"Then throw them in the brig."

* * *

'The brig' happened to be the storage area off to the side of the jet. I tried to laugh at the irony of it. We were on a shipyard but the brig we threw the twins in was on an aircraft. See? Irony. Hilarious.

The twins had been situated in the storage area before the team had entered, and Pietro looked fine with staying as far away from the Avengers as possible. Wanda was also fine being settled down with her brother, though she wanted me to stay with them as well. I couldn't. I needed to be by myself for a while. The visions Wanda made me see still floated around my mind, their presence so constant that I couldn't close my eyes without seeing my father . . . hung from the tree my mother crashed into, or the Avengers laid out in coffins. So despite how tired I was, a nap wasn't an option.

But that wasn't the biggest problem. Besides the foul aftertaste of vomit that lingered in my mouth, the guilt had returned. I sat in the jet, my knees pulled to my chest and stared at Bruce on the floor of the jet in a similar position. I knew it wasn't my fault. I wasn't my fault . . . but I felt like shit anyway. I was so angry—at myself, at Wanda, but more at myself. I knew it wasn't my place to stop Bruce from Hulking-out, but now there was a city in ruins and innocent people were hurt and frightened, and Bruce was suffering. Should I have stopped it? Ugh, I've never felt more conflicted in my entire life.

But since I wore half of my heart on my sleeve (not the whole heart, because that would be foolish, and if someone hadn't noticed yet, I had picked up a knack for lying), I started to cry. Silent tears from a useless girl, for Bruce and the city.

I was so lost in my own feelings I didn't even notice that Bruce had settled in front of me until I felt him use the sleeve of his shirt, which was bunched up in his fist, to wipe away my tears. No words were spoken between us, there hadn't been any since we took off. When he pulled away, he hadn't looked me in the eye, I don't think he could, his own guilt could probably topple my own. His actions were very reassuring either way. So instead of words or eye contact, I cupped his raised hand with both of mine and gave it a squeeze. I hoped it would provide the same comfort he gave me and reminded him that we were all still here for him in this dark time.

He was still for a moment, even his breathing stopped before he relaxed and moved back to his for position on the floor of the jet. I felt much better than before, but the silence that wasn't a problem before became increasingly disconcerting. That's when I remembered the duffle bag I had brought along. I reached under my seat and felt for it until I could feel its rough woven straps and pulled it out. I swung the bag's longest strap over my shoulder and headed for the storage area, the slightest movement of each of the Avengers told me they acknowledged my movements, but not one said a word. When I reached the storage area I found the twins where I had left them, on the floor and leant up against the wall of the jet, the male twin's arm was around his sister as she rested her head on his shoulder. Only this time Wanda had fallen into an uneasy sleep and Pietro's fidgety form was still.

As soon as I entered Pietro's eyes snapped to me and I tried to offer him a smile, a gesture he didn't return. I sat down across from him in spite of that and plopped the duffle between us.

"Hi," I greeted quietly, as I hoped not to wake Wanda. I began to unzip the bag. "I'm sure I'm right in assuming this, but you must be hungry." I pulled out a bag of cheese flavoured Doritos chips. "And this may not be the healthiest stuff, but it is comfort food."

"I'm fine." Pietro refused, and I raised a brow.

"Are you sure? I know about your super speed, so your metabolism must be really fast." I argued. "Plus, when was the last time you ate?"

"I told you: I'm fine." The older boy bit out. I wasn't about to let it go, so I opened the packet and grabbed a chip before I chucked the bag into his lap.

"Liar." I accused and reached into the duffel and pulled out a blue Powerade and offered it to him. "At least have a drink of something, or I tell Wanda you were giving me a hard time."

He glared at me, his brilliant blue eyes blazing, but soon gave up and reluctantly leaned in to grab the bottle with his free hand. Our fingers grazed each others' for a split second and I felt a shiver run down my spine. Why? That hadn't happened when I held Bruce's hand, and I've done that twice now. I hardly touched the Sokovian's hand but suddenly my face grew very hot. Was I blushing? Oh no, that was bad, because when I blushed I could make a very plausible replacement for a red stoplight. I tried not to think about it because now was not the time to develop a crush on a Marvel character. Well, I kind of already had a crush on Pietro (which Marvel character was I not semi-crushing on at this point? Wait-Nick Fury, he's a BAMF but I didn't like him that way) but that was when the entire universe around me was _fictional._

I don't think he paid my blushing face any mind as he went on to pop the top of the Powerade bottle with his teeth and take a long sip. I decided to do the same and felt great relief when the sports drink washed the old acidic taste of puke from my mouth.

I set down my drink when I heard a soft moan. It was Wanda. The poor thing stirred gently against Pietro, obviously uncomfortable in her current resting position. I racked my brain for a way to help her. I examined my surroundings, the storage area was pretty big, maybe I could lay some blankets out on the floor or—

A stretcher!

Behind me, folded up against the wall amongst other medical supplies was a stretcher that looked similar to the one Clint was placed on when he was injured at the beginning of the film. My friend Liz's older sister, Bec, was a paramedic and once during my school's career day, Bec came and told us all about her life being a paramedic. Why this was significant to my current dilemma was that during Bec's demonstration she showed us the ins and outs of an ambulance. So I worked from memory and went to set up the stretcher as best as I could. I fumbled around a little, but I got it eventually and adjusted it so it was the right height and secured it against the wall adjacent to where the twins were sitting. I grabbed some blankets as well: one to cover Wanda with, and the other I rolled up to create a makeshift pillow.

I turned to Pietro, who had been watching me with a raised eyebrow, and patted the stretcher. "Place Wanda up here, I'm sure she'll be more comfortable."

There was a moment of hesitation before Pietro gently manoeuvred his sister so he had her cradled in his arms. He lifted her up with ease and gently placed her on the stretcher. Of course, being moved woke her up, and she sat up in quite a panic. She was still half-asleep so I completely understood why she was confused, and her brother managed to grab her by the shoulders and gently guided back down.

"P-Pietro? Mella? W-where—" Wanda began, disoriented.

"You're fine Honey. Calm. Down." I said soothingly and draped the blanket over her. "You're _safe_."

Wanda stared at me with wide eyes, but she did calm down. She grabbed onto her brother's hand and asked quietly. "How long have I . . . ?"

"Been asleep? Not too long Hon'," I replied, and I could here Tony at the head of the ship, speaking with Maria. I knew what that meant. "We have a few hours more to go before we land."

"Where are we going?"

"A safe house, of sorts. We need to lay for a while." I tucked the blanket under the chin and brushed the hair that had fallen into her face away. "Just sleep, we'll be right here." Wanda nodded and reluctantly let go of her brother's hand and buried herself under the blanket. Soon her breathing evened out, and she was asleep.

I smiled and began adjusting the blanket around her to make sure it wouldn't slide off. If Lana was here she would laugh and tell me that I was being to much of a 'Mother Hen', always taking care of people. I didn't mind the title, making sure people were okay was like second nature to me, but I stopped my actions when I felt Pietro staring at me again. I looked up and rather than scepticism in his eyes there was confusion and . . . wonder?

"Why are you doing this?" He asked quietly, looking utterly hopeless. "After what we did, you forgave us. You defended us against the Avengers—you were willing to leave them if they refused to bring us! And now—now you take care of us. You smile down on my sister, so gently, like the nightmare she created in your head didn't hurt you. _Why_?"

The words were caught in my throat. Pietro had such a raw look in his eyes. So many emotions were rolling off him: confusion, fear, hope, it was a lot to take in. So I made my words simple.

"Because you're not bad people," I said quietly and tried not to wake Wanda. "Though you've made bad decisions, I would never hold the hurt you feel against you, plus," I gave him a knowing smile.

"I know you better than you think." And we didn't say anything else for a few minutes.

"I guess I'll just be . . . going then." I said and started to head back, but I was stopped when I felt Pietro grab my wrist.

"Stay." I heard him say, and I after a moment, I complied and sat down where Wanda had been previously seated. I grabbed the Doritos and began to eat while I tried to ignore the blush that stained my cheeks again. Pietro sat next to me and leaned back, his head tilted back so it to rested against the metal interior of the jet.

"So . . ." I began awkwardly. What was I supposed to say? To talk about?

"So . . ." He repeated and turned to look at me. "Tell me, are you really from a different dimension?"

"Well you're tactful, aren't you?" I said with a breathy laugh. "But yeah, I am."

Pietro shook his head, a disbelieving smile stretching across his face. "That's . . . so strange."

I agreed. "Like you wouldn't believe."

"And what did Ultron mean when he said that we—" The Sokovian gestured to his surroundings. "—Exist in a 'fictional reality'?"

"Well . . ." I trailed off, thinking of a way to explain it, and I kept my voice low—I didn't need the others listening in. "What would you say if I told that this entire universe, your entire world, was a figment of someone else's imagination?"

"I would say you were crazy, but we live in a world where men can fly in metal suits or turn into monsters," I glared at him and actually leaned away from me a little. I knew he was talking about Bruce, and I was not in the mood to deal with that type of bullshit. "And aliens are real and they invaded New York. So at this point, I don't think it should surprise me."

"Well, then it shouldn't surprise you then when I say that this universe actually a part of a film, a series of films actually," I explained further. "It's called 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', it's the second Avengers film, the first one was just called 'Avengers' and it was about the invasion in New York."

"So we're in a superhero movie?" Pietro summed up turning his head to stare at the roof of the Quinjet. "That's . . . crazy." I don't think Pietro could find any better words to describe his thoughts.

"How do you think I feel? I'm the one who landed here."

"How did you get here then?"

"My dad did something stupid and as a consequence, I ended up here and got my powers." I put down the Doritos and pulled my knees closer to me chest. "I don't really want to talk about it." And Pietro was kind enough not to push any further.

"So if we're in a movie, you knew what Ultron was planning . . ." The Sokovian boy looked to his sister. "He's really going to destroy the earth?"

"He's going to _try_." I corrected.

"But we're going to stop him." It wasn't a question this time.

I acknowledged the statement by bumping his shoulder with mine, trying not to remember the consequences of the Battle at Sokovia. "We're going to kick his arse."

"Do they know that?" Pietro tilted his head to the jet's seating area, to where the Avengers were.

"No," I answered even more quietly that before. "I just told them I knew what was going to happen and it was safer if I didn't tell them anything. They'll find out eventually, but they don't need to deal with the knowledge that they were fictional in my universe now with everything that's going on."

Pietro looked bewildered. "Then why did you tell me?"

"Because you kind of already knew, thanks to Ultron, and . . . because I think I can trust you, and I really want to." I admitted and hung my head. "Don't make me regret saying that."

" . . . I won't." I peeked at him through peripheral vision, he was staring down at me, a light smirk graced his features and I blushed even harder than I did before. Why did he have to be so handsome!?

"So in your universe, am I—"

"Nope!" I stopped him right there. "I trusted you with the truth, but I'm not giving you details; the less you know the better."

Pietro took a swig from his Powerade bottle. "Alright, what do you suggest we talk about?"

What could we have talked about? Oh! "Let's play twenty questions."

"What's that?"

"It's a really simple ice-breaker game," I explained. "Back and forth, we ask each other one question until we get to twenty. We can't repeat each other's questions and they can't be too closely related—what do you think?"

Pietro shrugged. "Let's play, you first."

I was elated that he wanted to play. I didn't know much about his character, and this was like getting a backstage pass! I bit my lip and thought of a question, I had so many! But I started with the obvious. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen," He replied. "But we turn twenty this year."

"Really?" I looked Pietro up and down. "You both look older, I guess."

"I know." Pietro sighed and touched his white blond hair thoughtfully. "Okay, my turn. Where do you come from? As in country."

"Australia."

"Explains your accent."

"Speaking of accents," I started. "Do you speak any other language besides English?"

"Romanian." I wanted to ask more, like if everyone spoke different languages in Sokovia and is that why people spoke English so well over there, but I had to abide by the rules. "Hmm, what's your favourite food?"

"Oh, that's harder question than you think it is." I tapped my chin in thought. "But since I have to pick, I love a good apple pie. Okay, next question—have you ever gotten arrested?"

Pietro's jaw dropped slightly. "Really? _That's_ your question?"

I giggled. "Yes, now answer it. That's usually how this goes."

The blonde shook his head and replied. "Yes, once. During one of the protest rallies me and Wanda would join, sometimes fights broke out and the authorities would arrest anyone that had been near the fight, even if they hadn't been involved in it." He must have recognised the look on my face like I was holding back. "And yes I was involved in the fight, but I didn't start it."

"Because that's so much better." I mock-scolded. "But it must've been tough afterwards."

"I was in jail for the night, Wanda and some friends had come to get me in the morning," Pietro said with a shrug. "My turn. What is your home like?"

It was a good question, but thinking of a simple answer that could recount the beauty of my home might be hard. "Well, I live near Perth in Western Australia, in a suburb called City Beach, and it's exactly how it sounds. It's only a few minutes walk to the beach and it's only a twenty-minute ride into the city. There are so many things to see and do in the city, but the beach it the best part. It's so lovely—beautiful white sand and the blue ocean stretches on and on. I've got the most amazing view, so I sit out on my balcony every other night, just to see the sun sink below the horizon, and the sky turns the most brilliant shades. From reds to pink and purples, it's the like the heavens would open up at dusk and spill some of their beauty into the sky, just for us, before the dark comes." My mother would have loved it there, she had always wanted the ocean to be her backyard.

It didn't take me long to realise I had started to cry. Sneaky tears had slipped down my face and dripped off my chin. Maybe talking about my home reminded me I might not be able to see again. I swiped at my tears and gave Pietro a watery smile. "Sorry, I was rambling and-"

"No no, it's fine," Pietro reassured. "Your home sounds amazing, I mean you live right next to a beach! We've never been outside Sokovia, or our own _city_ before Ultron came for us. We had never seen the ocean until then. One day, I want to take Wanda to a place like your home."

My heart ached because I knew what was coming for Pietro, but I smiled anyway and offered, "I'm sure one day when all of this is over, you guys can go to Perth and see the heavens open up too."

The blond gave me a cheeky look. "Only if you're our tour guide."

I nodded, and I didn't mind the hot blush slipped into my cheeks at the older boy's words. "Okay, next question . . ."

* * *

After that first game of twenty questions, we began another, then another, before we forgot it was a game altogether and spoke for the rest of the trip like we were just a boy and just a girl. It served as a welcomed distraction from the circumstances that had brought us together. Wanda slept soundly for the rest of the trip, but Pietro and I hadn't slept a wink. Pietro was adamant about keeping an eye on his sister though I reassured no one would do anything to harm her, but Tony was still in the area and Pietro didn't want to risk it. I was still afraid to close my eyes, for obvious reasons.

But because of the continued lack of sleep, both Pietro and I had the darkest circles under our eyes, and combined with the day old sweat and dirt that clung to our skin as well as our disheveled clothing—we looked absolutely _wrecked_.

I could see the bright light of slowly filling the jet, and it wasn't long before Clint announced, "Prepare for landing."

I tried to stand but after being seated for so long my body didn't want to agree with me, and my legs turned to noodles. It didn't help that the jet began to lower at the exact same time I decided to get up. I stumbled and began to fall, but as quick as bullet Pietro was up, one arm around my waist and the other on my shoulder why he steadied me.

"Uh, thanks." I sputtered because the way he held me had me shoved up against him, chest to chest. I was blushing like mad (dammit!) but Pietro looked like he hadn't minded.

Not. One. Bit.

I detangled myself from the speedster and straightened myself out (as best I could in the state I was in). "You should, uh, probably wake your sister." And as if on cue, Wanda began to stir and open her eyes.

I grabbed the duffel bag and snatched up any rubbish we had left behind and left Pietro to wake his sister. I walked out into the main area of the Quintet to find everyone preparing to leave, and I was greeted by Steve.

"Hey," I greeted quietly.

He smiled in return, though it was one of those worn out smiles, like the ones that really didn't reach their eyes. "You get any sleep?" Cap asked.

"Nope," I replied almost immediately. He probably already knew that by looking at my ( _wrecked_ ) face, but as alway Cap was polite as ever.

Steve's eyes darted to the storage area where we could here the twins speak softly. "And did they behave themselves?"

"Wanda was asleep for most of the trips and Pietro and I played played a few rounds of twenty questions," I reported. "There as docile as they're going to get, though their still going to be a little anxious around you guys, Tony especially."

"That doesn't surprise me," Steve replied and Clint approached us.

The archer's face was tight and grim. "Kid, do you know where we are?" He asked.

Clint's home. "Yes."

"Then you know who's here."

Clint's _family_. "Yes."

Steve looked back and forth between us, as he had no clue what we were talking about.

Clint looked to the twins who had just emerged. "If they try anything—"

"They won't Clint—look at them." I looked back to the twins. "Just look at them."

Wanda leaned against her brother once again, the blanket I used to cover her was now wrapped around her shoulders. He eyes wide as she stared the Avengers, who had stopped what they were doing to stare at the twins. Pietro held onto his sister, his stiff form told me he was still afraid that the Avengers might harm her, but he also looked so tired.

Together they looked like lost children.

"I see you point." The older man muttered. "Just needed to be sure."

"Of course." After that, Clint went over to help Nat, and the jet door dropped and everyone began to exit.

The twins and I were the last to leave, and the bright light of the world outside of the jet almost blinded us, but we continued one, a few steps behind the rest of the group. The scenery was calming to look up, and there was a chill in the air that was so refreshing compared the weather in Africa. Clint's house was so much bigger in actual reality than it looked on the cinema screen. It reminded me of the country house that my father and I stayed at when we went for a vacation over in the Hunter Valley in NSW. My dad was a big wine fan and I loved gelato so it was the perfect destination. There was even porch swing! How nostalgic.

It was only a short walk before we reached the front door, and of course, the twins and I entered last.

The excitement began to bubble up inside me. "Doesn't it look cozy?" I whispered to Wanda just before we walked it.

"I suppose," Wand replied, not really sure of what to make of the place.

An incredibly homey atmosphere washed over us as we clustered ourselves into the house's living room. The living room was filled with traces of the archer's children, from toys to drawings, but these items must have been mystifying to the Avengers who were clueless of Clint's life outside the team.

Clint called out. "Honey? I'm home!"

A second later, a pregnant Laura Barton (a.k.a. Velma from the live action Scooby Doo movies—'Jinkies!') came around the corner from the dining area with a surprised smile and went to kiss her husband.

"Hi, I have company," Clint spoke and kissed her back. "Sorry, we didn't call ahead."

"This is an agent of some kind." Tony assumed.

I giggled and set the duffel bag down. "No, she's not."

"Gentlemen, ladies." Hawkeye addressed us with an arm around his wife. "This is Laura."

"I know all your names," Laura spoke kindly albeit nervously to all the Avengers before she turned to the twins and me.

"Hi Laura, I'm Mella." I introduced myself eagerly and shook the older woman's hand before I motioned to the twins. "And this is Pietro and Wanda."

Laura smiled."You're the portal girl, right?"

I looked back in surprise; she knew who I was? It was Laura's turned to giggle. "Clint told me, another dimension, huh?"

I scratched my neck sheepishly. Of course, Clint would have told her everything. "Uh, yeah."

There was a familiar rumble in the ground and Clint grinned. "Ooh, incoming." Clint's children, Cooper, and Lila rushed around the corner.

"Daddy!" The little girl squealed as she was lifted into her father's arms while the boy wrapped his arms around the Avenger's waist.

"These are smaller agents." Tony tried to explain again as his mind tried to process the touching scene while I just stood there and cupped my cheeks while I cooed at the fluffiness of it.

Once Clint placed his daughter down, she spoke. "Did you bring Auntie Nat?"

"Well, why don't you hug her and find out, hmm?" Natasha smiled and Clint's daughter ran over and jumped into her arms.

Steve, being the gracious gentleman that he was, apologised. "Sorry for barging in on you."

Tony followed. "Yeah, we would've called ahead but were busy having no idea you existed."

"Yeah," Clint admitted. "Fury helped me set this up when I joined. Kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files, I'd like to keep it that way."

I quickly turned to see the awkward eye contact between Natasha and Bruce and tried not to squeal.

"I figured it would a good place to lay low."

At that line, I remembered something and quickly pulled on Thor's arm before he could step on a Lego block house. Natasha had gone off to have a chat with Laura and Clint's daughter then came up to me and stared up at me after taking all the new people that stood in her home.

I couldn't help but coo at her beautiful little face and crouched down so we were at eye level. "Hi sweetie, what's you name?" I asked, despite knowing what it was.

"I'm Lila." She answered cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you, Lila, I'm Mella." I introduced again. I adored children of every shape and size, and Lila Barton was hands down one of the most precious little girls I had ever seen.

Lila twirled here skirt side to side. "Mella's a pretty name."

"Thank you, Honeybunch! Lila's a pretty name, too." I replied and turned to the twins. "That over there is Pietro and his twin sister Wanda."

Pietro waved awkwardly while Wanda looked very uncomfortable under the little girl's wide-eyed gaze.

Lila tilted her head in a questioning manner. "They don't look like twins."

"That's because they're fraternal twins, darling," I explained slowly.

"Fra-fraternal?" Lila stumbled over her words.

Ooh, this child was going to kill me with her cuteness. I elaborated, "It means when they're born they don't look like each other, and there's one boy and one girl sometimes. The ones that look alike are identical twins."

"Oh," Lila spoke and turned to the twins. With a smile she went up to Wanda and tugged on her jacket, motioning her to bend down to her level. With hesitance, Wanda did so and Lila cupped her hands around her mouth and leaned into the Sokovian girl's ear and whispered but was still loud enough for me to hear. "You're really pretty."

Wanda pulled back, stunned before her expression softened and she brushed a strand of hair of in the little girl's face and tucked it behind her ear. "Thank you." She spoke softly, and I could see Pietro behind them with an unreadable expression on his face.

That was when the toaster decided to pop and Thor decided to storm out, just as before. The Captain went after him, but before he could get out the door I ran after them.

I stopped Steve at the door. "Let me talk to him."

The older man gave me a questioning look but I didn't give him any time to answer before I ran down the porch steps and chased after Thor.

"Thor!—"

"I saw something in that dream." He began, hammer gripped tight and his cape fluttered lightly in the breeze. "I need answers—"

"-And you won't find them here, I know." I finished and touched his arm. "Just hurry back, yeah? Everyone'll be back at the tower when you're done, and tell Dr. Selvig I said 'hi'. "

The God looked down at the at me, surprised, but gave me a firm nod anyway. I backed up as he swung his hammer and shot up into the sky, but the whole action felt useless when the force of his jump caused me to lose my balance and fall on my butt.

"Where is he headed?" I heard Steve ask as he came down the steps and helped me up.

Trying not to faint at the fact that Captain America was holding my hand, I turned away and looked back to the skies in the direction Thor had left in. "To find some answers. He'll be back, nothing to worry about."

At least I hoped not.

* * *

"So, Mella, is that an Australian accent I hear?" Laura asked as she put way some dishes in a cupboard on the other side of the sink. The Avengers and the rest of us had eaten brunch together quietly, and the meal mainly consisted of toast and a lot of coffee. I was still full of Doritos a Powerade, so I didn't eat much. Everyone had gone to shower and freshen up, so I stayed behind in the kitchen with Laura because I was sure as hell that Tony wasn't going to help with anything. I didn't mind at all, and it also felt good, to do something mundane and normal after everything that had happened so far.

"Oh, yeah," I replied while she did the rest of the dishes that were in the sink. "Australian-born and raised."

"Where in Australia?"

"Perth, in Western Australia."

"Oh." Laura thought for a moment. "Isn't it really isolated?"

"Oh yeah." I nodded and looked away from the sink, trying to not become too giddy—I was doing the dishes and making small talk with Clint Barton's a.k.a. Hawkeye's wife! "It's a big city, but it's the most isolated one in the world."

"What's it like?"

"Hmm." I hummed as I recalled some of the things I had told Pietro. "Well, the people are nice enough. It's a pretty rich city, there are a lot of millionaires living over there. And for some reason, the people are obsessed with custom license plates. I'm not even kidding, they're _everywhere_."

Laura laughed and came back over to the sink. "Let me finish here, you should go up and check if one of the showers are free."

"Ok." I agreed and finished washing the glass I was holding. I was still dirty, and I didn't the B.O. that was starting to make its presence known on me stink up the Bartons' lovely home. I jogged up the stairs and turned, I passed by the kids playroom where one of the bathrooms were located (for some strange reason) when I overheard someone talking.

I could hear Bruce mutter in disbelief. "What are doing?"

"I'm running with it; with you." I heard Natasha speak gently. "If running's the plan, then as far as you want."

Oh shit. Bruce and Natasha were having their moment! I wasn't about to fuck with my otp, so as quickly and quietly as I could I tiptoed past the open door and ran to the end of the hall to Lila's bedroom where I had stashed the duffel bag for the time being.

I had looked around at the room in fondness. Clint's children had given up coming and going from their rooms for the next few hours, just to let us use them for changing. The twins and I were using Lila's room, which was themed with pinks, greens, and purples. It reminded me of the room I had when I was around her age, well, actually I was more around Clint's son's age when I first got a room to make my own.

When my father had enough to actually get us a house, he made sure I had huge room as well as another in which we called the "Art Cave", like the Bat Cave but instead of being used to fight crime it was used for me to practice my art skills and study for school. When my father and I were still living in a studio apartment on the outskirts of the city, the only separate room was the bathroom and my bed and my father's were separated by a thick curtain that my mother had bought and strung up. Having two rooms of my own was one of the best things I had ever received.

Oh great, I had just made myself homesick, but not only that but a realisation hit me. My father was so desperate to get his job back that he'd break the law to do it. His project's funding plus wages was good money, it provided with everything we could have wanted. Everything I could've wanted. Now that I had finally gotten over my shock and overall anger, I could understand my father's reasoning behind his uncharacteristic actions.

I pushed those thoughts away and rummaged through for the clothes I had packed and noticed some of its' contents missing and replaced with plastic bags filled with dirty clothes. Huh. The twins must have already showered and changed. I grabbed out my stuff when I heard the door open, so I turned to greet whoever had walked it.

All the breath in my body left at the sight.

It was Pietro. He was fresh out of the shower. He was wearing the pants I had packed for him (they looked like a perfect fit, pat on the back for me) but was barefoot as well as shirtless. He was drying his wet hair with a towel and carried the rest of his clothes in his free hand. His torso was still a little wet from the shower, small droplets clung to his skin in the most ridiculously sexy fashion. He had these broad shoulders that we breathtaking, beautifully formed biceps that made me bite my lip, and I had a great urge to run my fingers over his stubbled jaw. I tried so hard not to stare, but he was so tall and lean, and I bet that sculpted abdomen of his (ooooohmyyyyyygaaaaawd) could compete with any greek statue.

Scrap that, he was Adonis come to torture me.

My face was burning when Pietro noticed me in the room, and his surprise only lasted a second before a smirk crawled across his handsome face. Damn! Where was Geo when I needed her?

"Uh, s-sorry." I stuttered, mentally slapping myself for the way her words fell out. "I-I'll just get out of your hair so you can get changed."

Pietro's smirk widened into a grin and he sauntered over to me. "Hey hey, why are you so nervous?" He asked, feigning innocence.

I blushed furiously. He knew exactly why! What cocky bastard! I wasn't angry at him, though, not really. I got the feeling that he might've been flirting with me towards the end of our conversation on the jet, but then again I couldn't tell if it was flirting or just teasing. But this . . . I think he really was flirting with me. I wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction of knowing how his words and looks affected me, so I played it off. "I'm not nervous. I just, um, I'm fine, really!"

He was directly in front of me now, so close I had to tilt my head up to look at him. Why was he looking at me that way? I turned my head to look away as he asked, "Are you sure? You are all red in the face."

I didn't respond, and when the silence stretched on I felt Pietro's rough fingers take my chin and turn my head until I faced him again. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

His spoke slowly and so intensely that I couldn't help but shiver. I stared up at him, about to respond, but as soon as I met his eyes I knew something was wrong. He didn't look all there, like a part of his mind was focused on something else. There was also this tenseness in his shoulders that I didn't notice before, and suddenly my nervousness turned to concern.

I reach up to touch Pietro's cheek. "Are you okay?"

His eyes widened and tried to pull away. "I'm fine-"

"No, you're not." I threw my fresh clothes onto Lila's bed and used my other hand to cup the other side of the blond's face. "Now, what's wrong? You can tell me."

Pietro let out a sigh through his nose. "It's just that-"

"Pietro."

Pietro and I whipped around to see Wanda, dressed in the black leggings and long red shirt I had packed for her in the doorway, arms crossed with an eyebrow raised.

My hands fell away from Pietro's face. From the looks of things, Wanda needed to speak with her brother. Not just 'I want to talk with you 'cause you're my bro' kind of talk, but a 'shit needs to be said and sorted' kind of talk.

"I think I'm just gonna go." I grabbed her clothes and headed out of the room towards the bathroom. As I was leaving she could hear a resounding 'slap' noise, Pietro yelping in pain and Wanda began to scold him in their native tongue.

I walked faster.

* * *

I breathed deeply as I continued to glide my pencil over the paper absentmindedly. Of all the things I had brought with me, it shouldn't surprise anyone that my sketchbook was amongst those items. It helped me relax, especially after my last encounter with Pietro. He was also the reason I decided to stay outside of the house.

I had gone out and sat around the side of the house on the grass with my sketchbook in my lap. It was almost one in the afternoon and even now I was still worried about Pietro. I hoped whatever the matter was he was sorting it out with his sister.

I looked up and saw Cap staring at me. I wasn't the only one outside of course. Clint was on the porch with his children and Steve and Tony were in the front yard chopping would. Steve's pile of wood was still comically larger than Tony's. I waved at the older man and he offered me smile that would have made me weak in the knees if I were standing before he went back to chopping wood. God, why did the universe decide it was a good idea to put me in a place where I would be surrounded by so many attractive people!?

Some inspiration suddenly struck me then and I flipped onto a new page and began to sketch away. Basic shapes to begin with before building up towards strong and permanent lines and smaller details.

"Hey." I looked up from my sketch to see Wanda approach and sit down one the grass with me. It looked like my hopes were wasted as Wanda felt more upset than Pietro had been. "Wanda, what's the matter?" She didn't respond.

"It's just . . . " Wanda trailed off. "There are just so many things on my mind."

"Then tell me, Honey, I'm right here." I soothed. I shuffled closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You can tell me anything, I'm you friend aren't I?"

Her eyes widened. "I'm . . . your friend?"

I nodded quickly. "Of course! Unless you don't want to be friends?"

"No! Being friends sound . . . wonderful." The older girl admitted. "But after what I did . . . how could you possibly want to be friends with me?"

"I forgave you already didn't I? What more do you want from me?" I said jokingly, but Wanda almost looked scared. "Hey, I really want you to be my friend, and you know what friends do? They tell each other everything and either comfort the other or call the other out on their bullshit, and I can't read minds like you so spill it."

Wanda looked down, her long brown hair fell and shielded her face from my view. "I feel guilty."

"About what?"

"About everything!" She burst. "For using my powers on Stark and creating Ultron, for using my powers on the Avengers, for nearly destroying this-" The Sokovian stared up at the house painfully. "He has children, Mella! I nearly turned into the man I hate, and took a father away from his family! What kind of monster would I be if I had-?"

"Oh Darling-shhh." I held her close as Wanda as she struggled to keep herself together. Both Tony and Steve were now paying attention but with a quick look, I told them I had it covered. "Wanda, Hon', you can't do this to yourself. We all make mistakes out of anger and hatred, but you're with us now, trying to make up for everything. That's all the matters."

"I understand, but it's not just that." Wanda let out a shaky breath and her eyes were glassy. "I'm scared out of my mind Mella. I saw what Ultron is planning. So much destruction and death, and Pietro . . ."

I rubbed the older girl's upper arm. "I know Wanda, and I'm sorry you had to see that."

"But how do we stop it?" Wanda asked frantically. "There must be a way."

I looked over her desperate face and tried to answer. " . . . I don't know if we can. Sometimes . . . sometimes things are inevitable. Since I've come here I have changed things with what I know, and we might be able to stop Ultron, but death is an absolute thing. As much as I hate to say it, I don't know if we can truly change what this universe has planned for Pietro."

Wanda's expression blanked for a moment before slowly forming one of determination.

"Then we're just going to have to go against the universe."

I felt the corners of my mouth turn up. "Hon', I like the way you think." From that moment, I made the silent vow that I would do my best to protect Pietro and speaking of Pietro-

"Wanda."

Pietro had appeared in front of us in a rush, fully dressed, and really he resembled his sister in the way he stood, with his arms folded and hip slightly cocked to the side. Even his glare was the same as Wanda's.

"What did you two talk about when I left the room?" I squeaked.

Wanda just turned her head away, showcasing her current feelings of annoyance towards her brother. "We got into an argument, it wasn't resolved. I'll be right back." She got up and dragged her brother towards the back of the house.

I could faintly hear Tony and Steve having their own argument, but my focus was on the twins. I didn't like the looks of it. I couldn't hear a thing they were saying, but there was a lot of fist clenching and head shaking, and I could see Wanda grow more distraught by the second. I've seen Geo and Lana get into many arguments like this, and when those happened I stepped in (whether they wanted me to or not) and played mediator. It looks I was going to do it again.

I hoped I wouldn't regret this.

I walked up to the twins and pulled them apart so I could stand between them. "Okay, what's the matter? I hate seeing you both like this and I've been left in the dark for too long about this tension you guys have going."

Pietro turned to me, a shocked on his face. "You think _you've_ been left in that dark!?" I stepped back a step. Where did flirty Pietro go?

Wanda growled at her brother. "Pietro, don't be angry with her—"

"Why shouldn't I be?" Pietro shot back. "After all, you just told me she's the reason you've been keeping things from me."

I was so confused. "I did _what_ now?"

"You heard me." Pietro snarled. "Wanda saw something in your mind that was so devastating that she won't talk to me about!"

My whole body stiffened. This was all about Pietro's death, that's what she saw, what she won't talk about. Oh boy, how were we going to get out of this one?

"Because of what she saw in your head—" Pietro clenched his fists so hard that I thought his fingers might break through his palms. "—No only is my sister keeping secrets from me, but for some reason she can stand here, being this close to the man that murdered our parents and be completely fine with it!"

Wanda looked as if she had been slapped across the face, and I was pissed.

Shit was about to go _down_.

"Okay, listen here arsehole because you obviously didn't when we were in Africa." I started, trying to stay composed because knowing me, I'd probably start yelling. "Tony did _not_ kill your family. He may have sold the weapons that did, but he didn't kill them."

Pietro shook his head. "What difference is there between the who dropped the bomb and who made it-"

"Uh, there is a huge difference!" I corrected. "And for Pete's sake, he's Iron Man! A bloody Avenger! He's been trying to make amends for his part in fuelling the violence and war in places like Sokovia because he saw what his weapons were truly being used for! I'm not saying you need to forgive him right now and forget all your pain, but you need to acknowledge that he's trying!"

Pietro didn't want to listen. "You just don't _understand_ -"

"What is that supposed to mean!?" I yelled. Oh no, I'd lost it. "You think you're the only one who has ever lost a parent? The only one to ever see a parent die in front of them and be traumatised by that? You think you and your sister are the only one's who have ever suffered? Well, I'll tell you now—you're not!" I was pretty sure I was about to cry, but I pushed on and pointed to Wanda. "And your sister here? Has been nothing but understanding, and has been trying so hard to be strong for you! So don't you dare undermine her! Not after what she saw-"

"And what did she see? In your head? What brought us here!?" Pietro nearly roared.

"You wanna fucking know!? Your death, Pietro! Your death!" I revealed with tears in my eyes to a very confused Pietro. "That's what she saw in my head. Ultron tried to destroy the earth, you died in the process, and now we don't know what to do."

The cat was out the bag, and I tried to storm away, but Pietro tried to stop me by blocking my path. He probably had questions, but I was in no mood to answer them. I simply created a portal and transported myself further down the yard.

"Pietro, that is enough!" I could here Wanda try to calm her brother, but I didn't look back when I broke out into a jog to get even further away from them.

"Mella!" Steve pulled away from chopping wood and tried to stop me before I passed. "Are you-"

"I'm fine," I muttered as I dodged the older man and kept going. I made it over to the barn and ran behind it before I collapsed on the grass and I let grief take over. Damn me and my emotions! I had really made a mess of things. Pietro must be so confused, and Wanda wasn't ready to talk openly about her brother's death. I thought maybe I should return and talk things out. Everything was out in the open anyway. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. I'd go back as soon as I calmed down.

To my left, I heard the crack of a stick and I rolled her eyes before I looked up. "Steve I said I was fine-" I froze.

I almost stopped _breathing_.

"I may not be the Captain," The man said, and his familiar eye patch caught my attention. "But I thought it was high time we met, Miss Kate."

I began to stutter. "You're-you're—"

"Nick Fury, but I was told you'd know who am," Nick spoke. "And boy have I heard a lot about you."

And just when I thought nothing else about this universe could surprise me, I fainted.


End file.
